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SUCCESS 


..IN. 


BUSINESS 


VOLUME  III 


BUSINESS  GEOGRAPHY 

AND   THE 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


BY 

EDWIN   SHERWOOD   MEADE,  Ph.D. 

Instructor  in  Business  Practice  in  the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Economy. 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 


UNIVERSITY  } 


P.   W.   ZIEGLER   &   CO. 

PHlLAL)KLPliI.\ 


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Copyright,  1Q02, 

BY 

D.  W.  Caskey,  Jr 


Introduction 


SECTION 

I 

SECTION 

II 

SECTION 

III 

SECTION 

IV 

SECTION 


SECTION      II 


CONTENTS 

Page 
5 

PART    I. 

The  geographic;il  differences  between  the  Ameri- 
can Continents  and  those  of  the  Eastern  Hem- 
isphere    „ 

The  northern  nations  compared  with  those  of  the 

torrid  zone  j-, 

.  The  United  States    ig 

The    economic  geography  of  the  United  States   . .  23 

The  Atlantic  coastal  plain 27 

The  Allegheny  plateau  29 

The  prairie  region 30 

The  southern  coastal  plain  35 

The  peninsula  of  Florida   ^T 

The   flood  plain   of  the   Mississippi    .38 

Trans  -Mississippi  highlands  41 

The  great  plains    42 

The  Cordilleran  district   44 

The  Pacific  coast  4:; 

The  Columbia  district   47 

General  summary   4<^ 

PART     II. 

American  Industries 54 

The  mineral  industry 56 

Non-metallic  minerals  69 

Metallic  minerals  70 

Other  metals 79 

The  rare  metals  82 

American  Industries  (continued)  ge 

Wheat ■.■■■//  85 

The  shift  in  location    of    wheat    industry    since 

1870 92 

Corn   g5 

Other  grains  joi 

The  animal  industry 106 

Change  in  location  of  animal  industry  112 

The   fisheries  industry  123 

The  dairy  industry 124 

(l) 


152372 


CONTENTS 

Page 

SECTION     III     American  Industries  (continued). 

Fibres  and  their  products  127 

Cotton   127 

Flax  and  hemp  133 

Tobacco 134 

Sugar    136 

Fruits  and  nuts  I37 

Lumber   13CI 

India    rubber  143 

SECTION      IV     American  Industries  (continued). 

The  location  of  manufacturing  industry ISO 

Transportation  routes   I5S 

SECTION      V    The  Organization  and  Management  oif  Industry  ...  170 

Collection  of  raw  materials    171 

Method    of  grain  collection   172 

The  collection  of  live  stock  182 

SECTION     VI     Organization   and  Management  of  Industry  (con- 
tinued). 

The    specialization  of  industry  193 

Relations  between  employer  and  employee  . . .  207 

SECTION  VII     The    distribution  of  Industrial  Products. 

Relations  between  wholesaler  and  retailer   .  . .  216 

The  retail  store   22c 

Recent  changes  in  the  organization  of  trade  .  229 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Coal  Vein :  Miner  at  Work  67 

Ca-sting  Pig  Iron  7^ 

Rolling  a  Steel  Ingot   75 

Gold  Mining  Plant 83 

Harvesting  Wheat    89 

Section  of  the  Wheat  Berry  9^ 

Milkers  Ready  For  Work  109 

Butter  Making;  the  Old  Way  125 

Butter  Making;  the  New  Way 125 

A  Cotton  Picking  Scene  I3i 

Locomotive    ^57 

Grain  Elevator  ^75 

Stock  Yards 185 


iv 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

Page 
The  World:  Uninhabitable  Areas j^ 

Regions  of  Low  Rainfall   j- 

Natural  Divisions  of  the   United  States ' "       24 

The  Mississippi  Flood  Plain  

Railway  System  of  the  United  States   

C°^^ ■ ^^^^'.'.'.\'.'.'.'.'.'.     59 

Iron „o 

Wheat 87 

Co*""  '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.     96 

Frost ^8 

R^'"^^"    100 

Cotton j,8 

Tobacco J  . 

Forests 14I 


^V^  O     THE  A 

UNIVERSITY   )] 


II  ir 


OR!i^ 


THE 

LOCATION,  ORGANIZATION  AND 
MANAGEMENT 


OF 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRY 


INTRODUCTION 


It  is  the  author's  purpose  in  this  book  to  familiarize  the 
reader  with  the  principal  facts  of  our  industrial  and  commercial 
Ufe.     We  are  here  concerned  with  three  questions: 

(a)  Why  is  industry  located  where  it  is  located? 

(b)  In  what  way  is  industry  conducted  to  produce  articles 
of  value? 

(c)  How  are  those  articles  of  value  distributed  to  the  people 
who  have  money  to  pay  for  them? 

In  a  field  of  study  of  such  vast  extent  we  can  do  no  more 
than  consider  a  few  leading  facts  in  each  division  of  the  subject. 
We  shall  first  discuss  the  general  geographical  dififerences  be- 
tween the  American  continents  and  the  continents  of  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  Next  in  order  we  shall  discuss  the  peculiar  advant- 
ages which  are  conferred  by  the  situation  and  geographical 
structure  of  the  United  States  upon  its  people  in  their  pursuit  of 
wealth.  Having  clearly  indicated  the  points  of  general  differ- 
ence and  advantage  which  distinguish  the  United  States,  we 
shall  go  on  to  discuss  in  more  detail  the  economic  geograp'hy  of 
the  United  States;  that  is  to  say,  the  arrangement  of  land,  water, 
soil,  climate,  plants,  animals  and  minerals  in  this  country,  which 
make  up  what  is  known  as  our  physical  environment  and  w'hich 
determine  very  closely  the  industries  of  different  sections  of  our 

(5) 


6  INTRODUCTORY 

country.  To  illustrate:  The  industries  of  Pennsylvania  are  en- 
tirely different  from  those  of  Minnesota.  Pennsylvania  is  pri- 
marily a  coal  mining  state,  and  therefore,  great  manufacturing 
industries,  especially  iron  and  steel,  have  been  built  up  within 
her  borders.  Minnesota,  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  coal  but  is 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  growing  of  wheat.  The  flour  milling 
industry  has,  therefore,  centered  in  Minnesota.  North  Carolina 
has  a  warm,  even  and  moist  climate.  Cotton  culture  springs  up 
naturally  under  these  conditions.  This  state  has  also  a  number 
of  waterfalls  which  furnish  abundant  water  power  for  factories. 
North  Carolina  is,  on  this  account,  "destined  to  be  a  great  cotton 
manufacturing  center.  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  are  far 
removed  from  the  cotton  fields  by  their  geographical  position. 
They  have  no  coal,  and  their  water  power  is  already  utilized. 

From  these  geographical  facts  we  can  predict  that  North 
Carolina  will  outstrip  Massachusetts  in  cotton  manufacturing. 
In  the  same  way  we  can  explain  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
Chicago,  Buffalo  and  New  York  City.  In  order  to  avoid  the 
high  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  the  greater  part  of  the  freight 
which  has  been  sent  to  the  seaboard  from  the  West  has  first 
been  collected  at  Chicago  and  the  other  lake  cities  and  then  sent 
by  the  northern  route,  skirting  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie 
and  passing  across  New  York  State  and  down  the  Hudson  river. 
On  this  account,  because  of  the  steep  grades  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  have  always  been,  as  it 
were,  shut  off  from  the  states  west  of  the  mountains  and  have, 
therefore,  suffered  in  competition  with  New  York. 

Enough  has  now  been  said  on  this  point  to  show  the  su' 
preme  importance  of  geographical  conditions  in  determining  the 
nature  and  location  of  industries,  and  to  convince  us  that  a  pre- 
liminary study  of  this  so-called  Economic  Geography  is  nec- 
essary to  a  proper  understanding  of  our  subject.  We  shall, 
therefore,  first  consider  the  geographical  situation  of  the  United 
States;  its  climate  as  determined  by  that  situation;  the  main 
physical  features  of  our  country;  its  vegetable  and  animal  re- 
sources as  conditioned  by  the  facts  just  mentioned,  and  finally 
its  mineral  resources.  Next  in  order,  we  shall  study  the  location 
of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  United  States,  explaining 


INTRODUCTORY 


their  location  on  the  basis  of  geographical  conditions  of  soil, 
chmate  and  resources.  Having  explained  the  location  of  indus- 
try, we  shall  then  go  on  to  consider  the  organization  of  industry 
for  the  purpose  of  production,  and  the  methods  which  have  been 
developed  for  the  production  of  the  product  and  for  carrying 
it  to  market.  In  the  discussion  of  this  phase  of  our  subject,  we 
s'hall  consider  the  coal  and  iron  industries;  the  grain  and  meat 
industries;  the  cotton  industry,  and  the  lumber  industry. 

Having  gained  some  acquaintance  with  what  may  be  called 
the  physical  facts  of  industry,  we  shall  discuss  the  business  re- 
lations and  arrangements  which  have  grown  up  on  the  basis  of 
those  physical  facts.  We  wish  to  know  how  industry  is  organ- 
ized; how,  in  other  words,  a  mill  or  a  mine  is  run.  Under  this 
branch  of  the  subject  we  shall  endeavor  to  show  something 
of  the  principles  which  un'derlie  successful  business  manage- 
ment. Having  organized  our  mill  and  started  it  to  running, 
we  have  next  to  dispose  of  the  product;  and  this  introduces  us  to 
a  study  of  the  methods  of  shipping  and  selling  goods.  Under 
the  methods  of  shipping,  we  have  to  consider  the  relations  of  the 
shipper  to  the  railways  and  the  principles  which  determine  the 
amount  the  shipper  must  pay  for  the  transportation  of  his 
freight.  Under  the  second  will  be  studied  the  organization  of 
the  wholesale  markets,  the  nature  of  produce  speculation  and  its 
relation  to  industry  and  trade,  and  the  relations  between  pro- 
ducer and  consumer,  including 

(i)  Direct  relations  between  producer  and  consumer,  as 
when  railroads  and  large  establishments  are  the  buy- 
ers, and 

(2)  The  indirect  relations,  where  the  goods  must  be  sold  to 
the  individual  consumer. 

Under  the  second  head  will  be  discussed  the  relations  be- 
tween manufacturer,  jobber,  wholesaler,  and  retailer — the  func- 
tions of  the  commercial  traveler,  the  credit  man,  and  the  com- 
mercial agency,  the  methods  of  advertising  and  collecting.  It 
is  not  expected  to  give  within  the  limited  space  of  this  book  an 
exhaustive  treatment  of  any  one  of  the  subjects  to  be  studied; 
the  student  when  he  enters  business  will  find  that  his  life-time  is 
too  short  to  completely  master  even  a  small  portion  of  the  field. 


8  INTRODUCTORY 

Nor  is  it  desirable  to  burden  his  mind  with  a  (luantity  ot  tech- 
nical detail  concerning  railway  billing,  express,  mail  and  tele- 
graph service,  conveyance  of  property,  and  the  like.  All  such 
knowledge  can  be  acquired  when  it  is  needed.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  a  general  understanding  of  the  location  of  indus- 
try, the  organization  of  production,  and  the  methods  of  distribu- 
tion of  products  and  the  sale  of  goods  can  be  gained  by  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  field  to  be  covered  in  this  book. 


1 


PART  I. 

SECTION  I 

THE    GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES    BETWEEN 
THE    AMERICAN   CONTINENTS  AND  THE  CON- 
TINENTS OF  THE  EASTERN  HEMISPHERE. 

(1)  PKysical  Conditions  of  the  Old  and  New  Worlds 

Take  a  map  of  the  world  and  notice  the  arrangement  of 
mountain  ranges  on  the  five  continents.  In  the  old  world,  the 
eastern  hemisphere,  you  will  observe  that  the  mountains  run  east 
and  west,  while  in  the  new  world  their  general  direction  is  north 
and  south.  We  are  hearing  a  great  deal  nowadays  about 
the  decadence  of  the  old  world  and  the  rapid  progress  of  the 
nations  of  the  West,  particularly  of  the  United  States.  Did  It 
ever  occur  to  you  that  the  arrangement  of  mountain  ranges  in 
the  continents  of  the  two  hemispheres  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  decadence  of  the  one  and  the  growth  of  the  other? 

Another  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  eastern  hemi- 
sphere is  the  reahn  of  deserts  and  liigh  br.rren  plateaus.  The 
northern  part  of  Africa  is  a  desert,  the  northern  half  of  Russia  is 
little  better,  Asia  is  more  than  two-thirds  desert,  and  four-fifths 
of  Australia  is  permanently  arid  and  sterile.  In  the  new  world, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  the  exception  of  small  areas  in  North 
and  South  America,  no  deserts  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  can 
be  said  to  exist.  Practically  the  whole  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere is  available  for  agriculture  and  the  production  of  food  for 
a  large  population.  It  is  this  fact  which  ensures  permanent  eco- 
nomic and  industrial  supremacy  to  the  new  world;  and,  as  we 
shall  see  presently,  the  United  States  is  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
new  world  the  one  best  fitted  to  be  the  home  of  a  great  people 
and  the  seat  of  a  great  civilization. 

(2)  Why  is  (Ke  Desert  Area  of  the  Old  World  so  Much  Greater  than  thaLt  of 

the  New  ? 

The  deserts  of  the  old  world  and  the  absence  of  deserts  in 
the  new  world  can  be  explained  by  the  peculiar  difference  in  the 

(9) 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  ii 

arrangement  of  mountain  chains.  Vegetation  requires  heat  and 
moisture.  Moisture  is  to  a  large  extent  supplied  to  the  lands 
which  lie  north  and  south  of  the  equator.  Tlie  air  above  the 
bodies  of  water  in  the  torrid  zone  becomes  saturated  with  this 
moisture  which  is  drawn  up  by  the  heat  of  the  sun.  This  sat- 
urated air  rises  and  flows  off  toward  the  poles,  and  cooler  air 
rushes  in  from  north  and  south  to  take  its  place.  If  the  moist- 
ure-laden warm  winds  from  the  equator  meet  with  no  obstacle, 
they  gradually  cool  in  their  progress  toward  the  poles,  and  this 
cooling  process  condenses,  or  squeezes  out  the  moisture  which 
they  contain,  resulting  in  large  rainfall  evenly  distributed  from 
east  to  west  and  gradually  diminishing  from  north  to  south. 

If  these  winds,  however,  in  their  north  or  south  course  meet 
with  any  oibstacle,  suth  as  a  mountain  range,  they  are  deflected 
upward  into  the  cooler  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  where  their 
moisture  is  suddenly  condensed  and  falls  as  rain  or  snow  on  the 
hither  side  of  the  mountain,  while  the  further  side  gets  hardly  any 
moisture  from  the  dried  out  winds  which  sweep  over  the  sum- 
mits. The  arrangement  of  mountains  in  the  old  world  which  I 
have  mentioned  is  such  as  to  shut  out  the  greater  portions  of  the 
eastern  continents  from  more  than  a  small  amount  of  moisture 
brought  from  the  torrid  zone.  Africa  is  a  ta'ble-land  surrounded 
by  mountains,  which  catch  most  of  the  rainfall  on  their  seaward 
sides;  Europe  is  cut  in  two  by  mountains  which  make  most  of 
the  northern  part  cold  and  sterile;  Asia  is  even  more  unfortunate 
than  Europe.  Arabia  and  Persia  are  plateaus  and  therefore  des- 
erts; most  of  the  Chinese  Empire  and  all  of  Siberia  are  cut  ofif 
from  the  moist  winds  coming  from  the  south  by  the  highest 
mountains  in  the  world.  Only  India,  farther  India,  China 
proper,  and  the  Asiatic  Archipelago  are  well  watered.  Australia 
is  a  table-land  surrounded  by  mountains,  and  is  almost  all  desert. 

We  can  now  understand  the  tremendous  disadvantage  of  the 
old  world  in  competition  with  the  new.  Its  physical  structure 
makes  the  greater  part  of  its  area  a  desert,  incapable  of  sustain- 
ing a  large  population  or  a  high  civilization. 

(3)  Future  of  the  New  World 

When  we  turn  to  the  new  world  we  can  also  understand 


12  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

the  reason  for  its  great  advantages  over  the  old  world.  The 
mountain  ranges  of  the  western  continents  run  north  and 
south  and  give  free  play  to  the  moist  winds  from  the  equator. 
Moreover,  the  fact  that  the  highest  mountains  are  on  the  western 
borders  of  North  and  South  America  is  an  additional  advantage, 
for  the  general  tendency  of  the  equatorial  winds  is  toward  the 
northwest  and  the  southwest.  Only  a  narrow  strip  of  land  on 
the  west  coast  of  the  two  continents  suffers  from  a  scanty  rain- 
fall. Most  of  the  American  continents  lie  to  the  east  of  the  high 
mountains  and  offer  no  obstacle  to  the  free  passage  of  the  moist 
winds. 

Nearly  the  whole  area  of  the  new  world,  therefore,  is  habita- 
ble and  cultivable.  With  the  exception  of  northern  Canada  and 
a  small  portion  of  South  America,  practically  its  entire  area  can 
be  utilized  for  the  support  of  a  dense  population.  Owing  to  this 
fact,  the  future  is  with  the  new  world.  The  American  continent 
is  to  be  the  seat  of  the  great  civilizations  of  the  future.  On  the 
western  side  of  the  Atlantic  will  be  found  the  great  centers  of 
population,  wealth,  and  industry,  which  the  next  century  will  be- 
'hold.  The  new  world  is  the  land  of  promise  because  it  is  the 
land  of  rainfall,  and  this  advantage  it  owes  absolutely  to  the 
fact  that  its  moiuntain  ranges  run  north  and  south  while  the 
mountain  ranges  of  the  eastern  continents  run  east  and  west. 


SECTION  2. 


THE     NORTHERN      NATIONS      COMPARED     WITH 
THOSE  OF  THE  TORRID  ZONE. 

(4)  Purpose  of  (his  Sectioix 

We  are  now  to  consider  the  economic  geography  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  American  continent  and  particularly  of  that 
part  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  Having 
observed  the  general  advantages  of  the  new  world  over  the  old 
world,  we  are  ready  to  study  the  causes  which  liave  g'iven  and 
whidh  will  continue  to  give  the  industrial  and  commercial  su- 
premacy of  the  new  world  to  the  United  States;  to  discover  why 
(to  use  the  words  of  an  American  geographer),  the  United  States 
is  fitted  to  be  the  home  of  a  great  people. 

(5)  Physical  Divisions  aLnd  Characteristics  of  the  Five  Continents. 

Turn  back  now  to  the  map  of  the  world,  and  carefully  ob- 
serve the  s'hape  of  the  five  continents  and  their  general  arrange- 
ment. You  will  see  at  once  that  the  equator  divides  these  con- 
tinents into  two  groups,  a  northern  group  of  two  continents 
(counting  Europe  and  Asia  as  one),  and  a  southern  group  of  the 
same  number.  These  two  groups  of  continents  may  also  be  dis- 
tinguished by  their  form  in  relation  to  the  equator.  The  south- 
ern groups  narrow  toward  the  poles,  and  the  greater  part  of  their 
area  lies  within  the  hot,  or  torrid  zone.  The  continents  of  the 
northern  group,  on  the  other  hand,  narrow  toward  the  equator 
and  broaden  as  they  approach  the  cold  regions  about  the  North 
Pole. 

The  result  of  this  peculiar  arrangement  of  land  forms  is  that 
in  the  northern  continents  the  greater  portion  of  habitable  areas, 
comprising  nearly  all  those  regions  whith  can  support  a  large 
population,  have  a  colder  climate  than  the  main  bodies  of  the 
southern  continents,  which  lie,  as  I  have  just  stated,  within  the 
hot  belt  surrounding  the  equator.     The  colder  climates  of  the 


(13) 


14  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

northern  continents  have  always  had  a  most  important  influence 
upon  the  character  of  their  people,  and  it  is  in  large  measure 
owing  to  that  cold  climate  that  the  ruling  races  and  the  great 
conquering  nations  'have  always  had  their  seats  in  the  north. 


(6)  Habiis  of  Nan  in  the  Warmer  Climates 

Man  is  by  nature  little  more  disposed  than  the  lower  ani- 
mals to  hard  work  and  strenuous  endeavor.  He  has  no  desire 
to  eat  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  if  he  can  sustain  him- 
self without  working.  In  the  warm  regions  of  the  world,  hard 
work  is  unnecessary  to  sustain  man  in  a  comfortable  existence. 
Fruit  and  nuts  in  great  profusion  and  almost  endless  variety  fall 
or  hang  from  the  trees.  The  streams  swarm  with  fish,  Which 
can  easily  be  caught  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Game  also  is 
abundant.  Cold  is  unknown,  clothing  and  shelter  almost  super- 
fluous. Under  such  conditions,  man  needs  not  to  w-ork  and  he 
is  content  to  sleep  and  idle  his  life  away.  Generation  after  gen- 
eration, century  upon  century,  find  him  still  in  the  same  condi- 
tion of  drowsy  indifference.  Progress  and  improvement  are  not 
thought  of,  because  the  inducement  is  lacking.  Man  is  entirely 
comfortable  and  secure  in  his  comfort. 

(7)  Habits  of  Nan  in  the  Cold  Climates 

In  the  colder  regions  the  conditions  are  different.  Here  the 
climate  is  harsh  and  inclement.  The  winters  are  severe,  locking 
up  land  and  water  in  snow  and  ice.  The  spontaneous  produc- 
tions of  the  forest  are  less  abundant,  and  must  be  won  with  more 
labor.  In  the  north  man  must  work,  and  work  hard  in  order  to 
live.  Unless  he  works  and  plans,  unless  he  denies  himself  pres- 
ent satisfaction  in  order  to  provide  for  future  wants,  he  will  per- 
ish. Compelled  to  exertion,  he  begins  to  subdue  fhe  difficulties 
which  encompass  him.  He  builds  houses  for  shelter.  He  pro- 
vides clothing.  In  order  that  food  may  always  be  at  hand,  he 
develops  agriculture  and  domesticates  animals.  By  slow  de- 
grees he  organizes  civil  society,  so  that  by  the  united  strength 
and  co-operative  eflfort  of  many  hands  his  hard  task  may  become 
easy.     In  short,  he  begins  to  get  the  better  of  the  physical  con- 


GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES  15 

clitions  of  soil-,  climate,  vegetation  and  animal  life   which  sur- 
round him.     He  becomes,  as  we  say,  master  of  his  environment, 

(8)  The  Consequences  of  Man's  Disposition  to  Labor  in  Northern  Climates 

This  discipline  of  hard  work  has  had  important  conse- 
quences. Strenuous  exertion  becomes  habitual.  Men  keep  on 
working-  and  improving  because  productive  activity  hae  become 
second  nature  to  them.  Their  food,  their  tools  and  their  weap- 
ons, their  houses  and  clothing  improve.  Their  societies  expand, 
until,  by  dividing  their  manifold  labors,  they  are  able  to  accom- 
plish an  amount  of  work  which  would  have  been  impossible  to  a 
single  family. 

The  habit  of  work,  wliich  was  forced  upon  man  during  the 
long  ages  while  he  was  getting  the  mastery  of  a  cold  climate  and 
an  unfriendly  soil,  has  continued  to  drive  him  onward;  and  the 
new  wants  and  desires,  which  the  power  of  satisfying  them  has 
developed,  have  so  co-operated  with  the  habit  of  work  that  man 
has  succeeded  in  uprearing  in  the  northern  latitudes  a  group  of 
spl'endid  civilizations,  jNIeantime,  the  lands  of  the  south  sleep 
away  an  unchanging  existence  in  the  torpid  contentment  of  easy 
satisfaction,  and  are  only  aroused  from  their  pleasant  lethargy 
by  the  strong  hand  of  the  northern  invader. 

Not  only  is  man  compelled  to  work  in  the  northern  lati- 
tudes, but  the  rapid  changes  of  temperature  unite  with  the  pre- 
vailing cold  to  stimulate  and  quicken  his  activities.  Great  and 
sustained  energy  is  impossible  in  a  hot  and  moist  climate,  but  the 
rapid  alternations  of  warmth  and  cold,  the  constant  shifts  ot 
weather,  and  above  all  the  long  winters  of  the  northern  countries 
act  as  a  constant  stimulus,  a  series  of  electric  shocks,  to  keep 
men  on  the  stretch,  and  to  get  from  them  their  utmost  degree  of 
efiort  and  accomplishment. 

It  is,  then,  primarily  to  their  colder  climates  that  thj 
northern  nations  owe  the  supremacy  which  tliey  enjoy.  Of  all 
these  northern  nations,  the  United  States  is  best  suited,  as  well 
by  climate  as  by  other  physical  advantages,  to  be  the  home  of  a 
permanent  industrial  supremacy. 
2 


SECTION  3. 
THE  UNITED  STATES 

(9)  LocaLtion 

Carefully  observe  the  map  whidi  will  be  found  on  the 
opposite  page.  Let  us  briefly  consider,  with  constant  reference 
to  this  map,  certain  important  advantages  possessed  by  the 
United  States.  To  begin  with,  t'he  greater  part  of  the  North 
American  continent,  and  practically  the  entire  extent  of  the 
United  States,  lies  within  tlie  habitable  area  of  the  globe.  The 
northern  part  of  the  continent  is  permanently  sterile  on  account 
of  the  cold.  But  this  area  lies  north  of  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  United  States.  Not  only  this,  but  the  habitable  area  of 
the  western  part  of  the  continent  extends  so  far  to  the  north  as 
to  include  not  only  all  of  the  states,  but  also  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  Alaska. 

Thus,  while  well-nigh  the  entire  area  of  the  United  States 
enjoys  the  advantage  of  a  cool  climate,  but  a  small  portion  of 
this  area  is  condemned  by  excessive  cold  to  perpetual  barrenness 
and  solitude.  Compare  this  situation  with  that  of  Russia,  where 
more  than  half  the  empire  is  sterile  from  the  cold,  and  we  can 
the  more  clearly  realize  the  advantage  conferred  upon  our  peo- 
ple by  the  situation  of  the  country — far  enough  north  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  a  temperate  and  cool  cHmate,  and  yet  not  so  far 
north  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of  crops  and  the  existence  of  a 
large  population. 

(10)  Moisture  a.i\d  Rainfall 

Not  only  is  the  industry  of  the  United  States  unfettered  by 
cold,  but  it  is  almost  equally  fortunate  in  regard  to  moisture. 
In  Section  2  I  have  shown  how  the  situation  of  the  mountain 
ranges  on  the  American  continents  insures  an  abundant  supply 
of  moisture  over  their  entire  area.  This  statement  should  be 
slightly  qualified  when  it  is  applied  to  the  region  of  North  Amer- 
ica lying  between  the  looth  meridian  of  west  longitude  and  the 
coast    range,    the  region  whicli  is  represented  by  light  shading 

(16) 


i8  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

upon  the  map.  This  region  has  a  relatively  small  rainfall,  no- 
where exceeding  20  inches  per  annum,  as  compared  with  30  to 
60  inches  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Moreover,  this  rainfall  is 
unevenly  distributed,  falling,  for  the  most  part,  during  the  win- 
ter months  in  the  form  of  snow,  and  mainly  upon  the  mountains, 
from  which  the  numerous  and  important  streams  that  traverse 
this  region  are  constantly  supplied.  This  situation  precludes  the 
success  of  ordinary  methods  of  agriculture  within  this  region. 
Numerous  failures  have  been  the  results  of  attempts  to  grow 
crops  of  corn,  wheat,  and  oats  within  this  area,  which  has,  until 
recent  years,  gone  by  the  name  of  the  Great  American  Desert. 

It  has,  however,  developed  that  the  rainfall  of  this  region 
was  abundantly  ample  for  grazing  purposes,  and  the  Great  Plains 
have  become  the  source  of  meat  supply  for  the  Eastern  states, 
much  of  the  land  now  supporting  a  profitable  cattle  industry;  for 
example,  in  Western  Kansas,  which  was  proved  utterly  unfit  for 
corn  and  wheat  culture.  It  has  also  been  discovered  within  the 
last  forty  years — the  discovery  was  first  made  by  the  Mormons — 
that  large  portions  of  this  so-called  arid  region  can  be  made 
highly  productive  by  conducting  over  the  land,  the  water  of  the 
large  and  numerous  streams  that  are  fed  by  the  melting  snows 
of  the  mountains.  It  can,  therefore,  be  assorted  that  even  the 
desert  region  of  the  United  States  can  be  made  to  sustain  a  large 
population. 

Compare  our  American  desert  with  the  Desert  of  Sahara, 
with  Central  Asia,  or  with  Australia — regions  where,  save  on 
small  and  scattered  oases,  neither  agriculture  nor  'herding  can 
exist,  where  millions  of  square  miles  are  forever  lost  to  civiliza- 
tion— and  we  can  the  better  appreciate  the  important  benefits 
which  the  situation  and  the  physical  structure  of  the  North 
American  continent  confer  upon  its  inhabitants.  On  the  west 
coast,  California  presents  the  same  conditions  as  the  Great 
Plains  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  with  this  modification: 
That,  owing  to  the  close  proximity  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun- 
tains to  the  coast,  the  amount  of  water  available  for  irrigation  is 
ample.  Oregon  and  Washington  west  of  the  Coast  Range  have 
a  greater  rainfall  than  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  This 
is  due  to  the  warm  winds  which  blow  up  from  the  southwest,  and 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  19 

whose  moisture  is  condensed  on  the  high  mountains  of  the  Cas- 
cade Range. 

(11)  Clim&te  aL.nd  Productivity 

East  of  the  looth  meridian  and  including  the  area  represent- 
ed by  the  dark  shading  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  practically  the  en- 
tire area  of  the  United  States  is  abundantly  watered  and  there- 
fore tillable.  The  rainfall  of  this  region  is  more  copious  than 
that  of  Europe,  and  is  well  distributed  throughout  the  year. 
Droughts,  where  they  occur,  are  of  local  significance.  Famines 
are  unknown.  Not  only  are  the  crops  of  this  region  reasonably 
certain,  but,  owing  to  its  wide  extent,  and  especially  owing  to  the 
north  and  south  extension  of  the  United  States,  these  crops  in- 
clude practically  all  the  vegetable  products  of  the  temperate  and 
sub-tropical  zones.  Without  extending  so  far  south  as  to 
weaken  and  enervate  our  peopJe  by  the  damp  heat  of  the  tropics, 
the  southern  part  of  the  United  States,  particularly  the  peninsula 
of  Florida,  has  a  climate  which  admits  of  profitable  culture  of 
sugar  cane,  rice,  and  tropical  fruits.  Ascending  through  the 
Mississippi  valley,  we  pass  in  succession  through  the  cotton  belt, 
'the  tobacco  belt,  the  corn  belt,  and  the  wheat  belt;  while  in  the 
extreme  north  the  hardier  kinds  of  small  grain,  such  as  rye  and 
barley,  can  be  successfully  grown.  This  wide  variety  of  climate 
and  products  makes  the  United  States  almost  completely  self- 
sufiicient  and,  therefore,  economically  independent  of  foreign 
nations.  Her  soil  can  produce  the  food  and  clothing  of  her 
people. 

This  same  conjunction  of  moist  and  variable  climate  ex- 
plains the  presence  of  the  immense  forests  which  originally  cov- 
ered practically  the  entire  area  east  of  the  Mississippi,  including 
a  great  variety  of  woods,  from  the  pine  and  spruce  of  the  north 
to  the  magnolia  and  cypress  of  the  Gulf  states.  This  profusion 
and  variety  of  timber  'have  been  at  all  times  a  great  aid  in  our 
national  development. 

(12)  Loca.tioi\  of  Early  SettlemenU 

In  the  early  years  of  our  national  history  the  dense  forests 
afforded  abundant  material  for  ship  building,  and  at  the  same 


20  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENiCES 

time  forced  the  colonists  to  betake  themselves  to  the  sea  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  penetrating  the  dense  forests  west  of 
the  seaboard.  Confined  within  a  narrow  strip  of  coast  line,  the 
English  colonists  developed  strong,  self-reliant,  populous  com- 
munities. Relying  alike  upon  commerce  and  agriculture,  they 
early  developed  and  practiced  the  principles  of  civil  government 
and  civil  liberty,  while  the  French  and  Spanish  colonists,  enter- 
ing the  country  by  the  Mississippi  on  the  south  and  the  Great 
Lakes  on  the  north,  scattered  over  the  vast  open  spaces  and 
along  the  extensive  river  systems  of  the  interior  and  never  suc- 
ceeded in  developing  any  great  measure  of  independent 
strengtli. 

(13)  Stru^^le  for  ColoniaLl  Empire 

Thus,  when  the  struggle  for  race  supremacy  came  in  the 
colonial  wars  of  the  iSth  century,  it  was  the  English  colonies  who 
triumphed,  and  who,  from  their  early  discipline  and  the  concen- 
tration and  centralization  of  their  power,  were  able  a  little  later 
to  win  their  independence  from  the  mother  country.  After  the 
Revolution,  the  great  forests  were  penetrated  and  subdued,  and 
the  westward  expansion  of  the  United  States  began.  Do  not 
understand  me  to  assert  that  the  triumph  of  the  English  over  the 
French  was  due  entirely  to  the  accident  of  their  location  to  the 
eastward  of  the  great  forests.  Other  causes,  political  and  relig- 
ious, with  which  we  are  not  at  this  time  concerned,  contribut'^d 
largely  to  their  s-uccess.  The  forests,  however,  did  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  guiding  the  early  course  of  our  national  develop- 
ment, and  throughout  our  subsequent  history  they  have  greatly 
aided  our  industrial  and  commercial  progress  by  furnishing  an 
abuwlance  of  timber  for  buildings,  fences,  bridges,  and  fuel. 

(14)  Other  Advantages 

Another  point  of  advantage  to  the  rapid  development  of  the 
United  States  was  the  fact  that  all  the  plants  and  animals  of  Eu- 
rope could  be  readily  domesticated  in  the  new  world.  The  agri- 
cultural skill  and  experience  of  Europe,  the  results  of  centuries 
of  experiment,  were  transplanted  entire  to  the  new  world.  The 
American  continent  also  supplied  to  the  colonists    Indian    corn, 


i^mt 


a1 


GEOGRAnilCAT.    nTFrEREN'CES  21 

which  was  peculiarly  valuable  to  the  pioneer  because  it  grew 
readily  in  clearings  and  produced  on  new  ground  abundant  crops 
with  comparatively  little  attention;  and  the  potato,  which,  car- 
ried over  from  the  new  world,  has  long  since  become  a  staple  ar- 
ticle of  diet  among  the  people  of  Europe.  Almost  the  entire 
area  of  the  United  States  was  healthful,  in  striking  contrast  to 
the  lands  of  tropical  America,  whither  the  Spaniards  directed 
their  efforts.  Disease  offered  no  resistance  to  the  rapid  settle- 
ment of  the  country. 

The  final  point  of  advantage  which  has  very  powerfully  con- 
tributed to  the  growth  and  present  power  of  the  United  States 
is  the  fact  that  this  is,  geographically  speaking,  one  country  from 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Only  the  western 
mountain  region  and  the  narrow  strip  of  territory  on  the  west 
coast  can  be  said  to  be  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  country, 
and  it  is  not  in  these  regions  that  the  dense  population  and  high 
industrial  development  are  to  be  found. 

East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  whole  area  of  the  United 
States  is  a  geographical  unit  and  is  predestined  by  nature  to  be 
the  home  of  a  single  people,  firmly  united — and  therefore  invinc- 
ible— and  at  peace, — predestined,  not  merely  because  most  of 
its  surface  is  an  o;:€n  plain,  but  because  of  the  enormous  river 
systems  which  center  about  the  Mississippi  river,  the  chain  of 
lakes  along  its  northern  border,  and  the  many  navigable  rivers 
of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

(15)  GeograLphica.!  Units 

To  grasp  the  industrial  importance  of  this  fact,  notice  on 
the  map  the  arrangement  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  This 
continent  is  spJit  up  into  a  great  number  of  parts  bv  high  moun- 
tains and  by  arms  of  the  sea.  This  separation  has  given  oppor- 
tunity for  the  growth  of  separate  nationalities,  which  could  live 
their  own  lives  in  their  own  way  without  relation  to  the  lives  of 
their  neighbors.  National  life  closely  follows  the  divisions  of 
geography,  Spain  is  separated  by  mountains  from  Portugal  and 
from  France.  Great  Britain  is  completely  isolated,  and  withi-i 
Great  Britain,  Ireland  has  a  separate  nationality.  Scandinavia  is 
separated  from  the  rest  of  Europe  by  the  sea.  and  Norway  and 


22  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

Sweden  arc  parted  by  mountains.  France  is  a  geographical 
unit,  Italy  another,  North  Austria  and  Germany  another,  Tur- 
key and  Greece  another,  and  Russia  is  clearly  marked  off  from 
the  rest  of  Europe. 

(16)  The  Effect  of  NatioiveLl  IsolsLtion 

This  geographical  and  national  isolation  has  led  to  innum- 
erable wars  between  the  strangers,  and  yet  no  one  nation  has 
ever  been  able  to  subdue  the  rest.  Geographical  barriers  and  the 
racial  differences  which  they  have  produced  have  time  and  again 
proved  too  strong  for  military  power.  The  Roman  Empire,  the 
Empire  of  Charlemagne,  the  Empire  of  Napoleon,  each  broke  in 
pieces  on  the  sharp  edges  of  mountain  barriers;  and  Europe  has 
again  and  again  fallen  back  into  the  condition  of  savage  war  and 
armed  peace.  Her  people  are  burdened  with  debt  taxes,  war 
taxes,  and  conscription.  Her  credit  is  almost  exhausted. 
Her  business  is  carried  on  in  constant  apprehension  of  war. 
Her  society  is  cast  in  a  military  mould.  Her  despotisms  rest 
upon  military  foundations.  The  land  groans  and  cries  out  in 
misery  and  anguish  of  militarism.  The  shadow  of  conflict  hov- 
ers over  the  whole  face  of  Europe,  to  chill,  to  paralyze,  and  to 
stunt  her  industrial  development. 

(17)  Effect  of  National  Unity 

How  different  is  the  situation  in  the  United  States!  Here 
there  is  but  one  land  and  one  people.  All  the  evils  of  miHtarism 
which  curse  our  European  competitors  are  absent  from  the 
United  States.  Our  men  are  in  the  fields  and  shops,  not  in  the 
barracks.  We  have  no  foes  to  fear,  for  we  possess  a  continent. 
Our  taxes  are  low,  our  institutions  are  those  of  civil  liberty,  and 
our  people  are  free  to  devote  themselves  to  the  production  of 
wealth.  Only  once  has  our  national  development  been  retarded 
by  civil  war,  and  then  the  geographical  unity  of  the  country, 
especially  the  presence  of  navigable  streams  throughout  the 
southern  states,  made  possible  the  invasion  and  complete  subju- 
gation of  the  Confederacy  and  removed  the  last  obstacle  from 
the  path  of  our  industrial  progress — a  feat  that  would  liave  been 
utterly  out  of  the  question  had  geographical  barriers  intervened. 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFfEREN€ES  23 

This  unity,  perhaps  our  greatest  advantage,  is  due  to  those  fea- 
tures of  the  structure  of  our  continent  which  have  already  been 
described  and  which  allow  an  easy  passage  over  the  whole  area 
of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — a  wide  open 
plain,  intersected  only  on  one  side  by  low  mountain  ranges  and 
penetrated  throughout  by  navigable  rivers. 


SECTION  4. 

THE  ECONOMIC  GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES 

The  Appalachian  Belt 

Having  indicated  some  of  the  more  general  features  of  our 
physical  environment,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  discuss  in 
greater  detail  the  geographical  features  of  the  United  States, 
preparatory  to  a  minute  consideration  of  the  various  products 
which  our  country  affords. 

(18)  Appala-chieLn  Belt 

The  map  which  accompanies  this  section  shows  in  outline 
the  geographical  divisions  of  the  United  States.  Observe  the 
various  divisions.  We  have  first  an  elevated  region  (repre- 
sented by  a  belt  of  dark  shading)  in  the  eastern  part,  known  as 
the  Appalachian  Belt  (A  B).  This  extends  from  northern 
Maine  to  northern  Alabama.  It  includes  practically  the  entire 
area  of  the  New  England  States  and  a  broad  belt  of  territory 
extending  southwest  from  Massachusetts,  narrowing  as  it 
passes  through  the  Middle  States  and  widening  to  include  a 
much  larger  area  in  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  the  Carolinas, 
Georgia  and  Tennessee.  This  is  the  mountainous  region  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  United  States, 


i 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  9$ 

(19)  Effect  of  WsLter  Upon  Mountains 

In  early  times  these  mountains  were  much  hig-her  thain  at 
present.  Millions  of  years  of  steady  wear  from  the  water  which 
has  rushed  down  their  sides  to  east  and  west  has  lowered  the 
original  mountains  to  mere  fragments  of  their  former  size.  In- 
deed, at  one  time  this  whole  area  is  believed  to  have  been  a  great 
plateau.  So  thoroughly  have  the  streams  done  their  work  that 
only  scattered  elevations  are  left  to  mark  the  sites  of  the  old 
ranges.  It  is  further  believed  that  much  of  the  mountainous  ap- 
pearance which  this  area  now  presents  is  due  to  the  work  of  the 
streams  in  wearing  away  and  cutting  through  the  softer  rocks, 
leaving  the  harder  formations. 

(20)  Further  Divisions  of  Appalachian  Belt 

This  Appalachian  belt  may  be  further  divided  into  an  eastern 
and  a  western  belt,  which  are  separated  on  the  map  by  the  dotted 
line,  and  further  indicated  by  thie  letters  O  A  and  N  A.  The 
rocks  of  the  older,  or  eastern  belt  are  much  harder  than  those  of 
the  western  portion  of  this  region,  on  which  account  the  eastern 
part  is  the  country  of  high  peaks  and  narrow  valleys;  while  in 
the  western  part,  because  of  the  wearing  away  of  the  uplands 
by  the  streams,  the  valleys  are  much  broader  and  the  elevations 
less  marked. 

The  cultivable  portions  of  this  area  are  found  in  the  valleys, 
along  the  coast  of  New  England,  and  in  the  Carolinas, where  the 
formation  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  belt  is  that  of  a  table-land 
with  comparatively  few  elevations.  Three  breaks  occur  in  the 
Appalachian  belt;  one  through  the  Mohawk  valley,  one  in  Penn- 
sylvania where  the  mountains  are  low,  and  a  third  in  Virginia, 
douTi  the  long  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  through  the  Cum- 
berland Gap  into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  It  was  through 
these  openings  that  the  emigrants  from  the  east  penetrated  to 
the  western  country.  The  easiest  passage  was  up  the  Hudson 
through  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  from  which  it  was  no  great 
distance  to  Lake  Erie  and  so  on  to  the  West.  Those  who  took 
the  middle  route  passed  down  the  Ohio,  and  the  southern  pass 
gave  access  to  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers. 


26  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

The  Atlantic  shore  line  of  the  Appalachian  belt  is  of  especial 
interest.  Here  many  arms  of  the  sea  enter  deep  into  the  land 
and  afford  a  great  number  of  excellent  harbors.  Back  from  the 
coast  for  an  average  distance  of  lOO  miles,  agriculture  can  be 
followed  because  the  highlands  have  been  worn  down  to  a  level. 
Timber  was  everywhere  abundant  in  the  early  days,  and  this  con- 
junction of  excellent  harbor  facilities  with  considerable  agricult- 
ural resources  was  made  the  basis  of  an  extensive  commerce  in 
which  New  England  was  for  a  long  time  pre-eminent. 

(2Ij  Water  Supply 

Another  feature  of  permanent  importance  in  the  Appalach- 
ian belt  is  the  abundance  of  water  power  which  it  affords.  This 
is  especially  true  of  New  England  and  certain  sections  of  the 
South,  mainly  in  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  The  New  England 
streams  as  they  fall  from  the  highlands  develop*  in  the  descent  a 
large  amount  of  power,  which  is  concentrated  by  natural  dams 
composed  of  rocks  and  gravel  rolled  along  by  the  streams  and 
accumulating  at  intervals,  thus  backing  the  water  into  numerous 
ponds  and  lakes,  which  act  as  storage  reservoirs  for  surplus  ac- 
cumulations of  water  during  the  wet  seasons.  The  water  power 
of  New  England  is  the  main  cause  of  her  manufacturing  develop- 
ment. Every  considerable  fall  within  easy  reach  of  the  centers 
of  population  has  been  utilized  for  manufacturing  purposes. 

In  the  South,  the  arrangement  of  power  is  less  favorable, 
but  the  greater  extent  of  territory  which  drains  into  the  streams 
and  the  fact  that  the  Appalachian  belt  is  bordered  by  an  alluvial 
plain  upon  which  the  waters  can  readily  take  effect,  have  pro- 
duced along  the  edges  of  the  belt  a  series  of  falls  and  shoals, 
which  give  a  large  amount  of  power. 

(22)  Utilization  of  Water  Power 

The  location  of  this  power  in  the  midst  of  the  cotton  fields 
has  encouraged  its  use  for  cotton  manufacturing,  and  within  a 
few  years  it  will  be  entirely  taken  up  and  employed  for  industrial 
purposes.  The  amount  of  power  still  available  in  this  region, 
moreover,  is  very  much  greater  than  in  New  England,  and  the 
prospects  of  the  South  for  manufacturing  growth  are,  therefore, 
brighter  than  those  of  the  Northeastern  states, 


GEOGRAnilCAT,    DIFFERENCES  rj 

There  is  also  abundance  of  power  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Appalachian  belt  where  the  streams  fall  toward  the  Ohio,  but 
here  the  country  is  so  broken  and  rough  and  the  difficulties  of 
transportation  are  so  great  that  the  utilization  of  this  power 
must  be  carried  on  very  slowly.  It  may  be,  however,  that  it  will 
be  found  practicable  to  transmute  this  water  power  into  elec- 
tric power,  and  in  this  way  send  it  out  of  these  inaccessible  re- 
gions down  to  the  plain  country,  in  which  case  the  waterfalls  of 
the  western  Appalachian  belt  would  become  valuable. 

The  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain 

(23)  Position  ak.nd  Extent 

The  second  feature  of  the  geography  of  the  United  States 
Which  is  deserving  of  notice  is  the  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain.  It  ex- 
tends from  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  and 
from  loo  to  300  miles  back  from  the  seaboard.  Its  name  is  suf- 
ficient for  a  general  description  of  this  region — a  low,  flat  plain 
along  the  seaboard,  gradually  rising  as  it  approaches  the  high- 
lands of  the  Appalachian  belt.  It  has  been  formed  bv  the  joint 
action  of  the  streams  in  wearing  down  the  highlands  above  it, 
and  by  the  action  of  the  sea  in  building  up  the  shore  land  with 
large  drifts  of  sand.  The  greater  part  of  the  plain  is  fertile.  For 
some  distance  back  from  the  shore,  however,  the  Atlantic 
Coastal  Plain,  along  its  entire  length,  consists  of  sand  dunes  and 
marshes  which  are  usually  impossible  to  cultivate  without  drain- 
age, or  without  extensive  works  of  embankment  or  tree  plant- 
ing to  keep  back  the  sand  and  give  vegetation  a  chance  to  start. 
Numerous  works  of  this  kind  have  been  undertaken,  especially 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  plain.  This  coastal  plain  contains 
the  densest  population  of  any  part  of  the  United  States,  being 
the  oldest  settled  portion  of  the  country.  It  has  long  enjoyed 
the  advantage  of  handling  the  foreign  trade  of  the  nation.  It 
has  built  up'  great  manufacturing  industries  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  South  and  West,  which  have  only  recently  begun  to  man- 
ufacture for  themselves,  and  it  'has  had  the  first  choice  of  all 
European  immigration.  The  last  census  showed  that  the  most 
rapid  increase  of  population  from  1890  to  1900  was  in  the  states 
of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 


28  GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES 

(24)  Great  Disnva.]  Swa.mp 

The  Great  Dismal  Swamp  in  northeastern  North  Carolina 
and  southeastern  Virginia  is  being  rapddly  reclaimed  by  exten- 
sive drainage  operations,  and  every  year  large  areas  of  swamp 
land  are  converted  into  fertile  farms.  As  the  value  of  land  in 
the  Eastern  states  continues  to  rise,  there  is  but  little  doubt  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  Atlantic  shore  belt  will  be  reclaimed  for 
agriculture.  The  shore  line  is  fringed  with  sand  dunes  forming 
shallow  lagoons  between  them  and  the  shore — indications  of  the 
land-building  operations  of  the  sea  and  the  rivers.  These  chan- 
nels or  lagoons  grow  more  and  more  shallow,  and  unless  con- 
stantly dredged  become  in  time  impassable.  Eventually,  if  not 
artificially  prevented,  the  lagoon  will  be  entirely  filled  up  and  a 
new  shore  line  formed. 

(25)  R.ivers  of  the  Coa.stal  PlaLin 

The  rivers  of  the  Coastal  Plain  formerly  ran  at  a  much 
higher  elevation  than  at  present.  A  general  subsidence  or  de- 
pression of  the  coastal  plain  at  one  time  took  place,  which  had 
the  effect  of  converting  the  valleys  of  these  rivers  into  bays  and 
inlets.  This  influence  has  been  extended  far  up  the  rivers  so 
that  they  are  much  broader  and  deeper  than  the  area  of  their 
drainage  basins  would  indicate.  The  Hudson,  Delaware,  and 
James  rivers  are  examples.  Delaware  Bay  and  Chesapeake  Bay 
are  examples  of  inlets  and  estuaries  formed  by  subsidence  of 
the  land. 

The  existence  of  these  inlets  has  been  of  great  importance 
in  the  locating  of  cities.  New  York,  Philadelpihia,  Baltimore, 
Richmond,  Savannah,  and  Charleston  are  all  located  at  the 
m'outh  of  drowned  valleys,*  on  account  of  the  early  development 
of  an  extensive  commerce  between  Europe  and  the  people  of 
the  Atlantic  slope,  which  these  short  deep  rivers  made  easy. 
This  point  will  be  taken  up  again  when  we  come  to  discuss  the 
general  subject  of  the.  location  of  cities. 


*The  subsidence  of  the  New  Bogltnd  coast  lia*  has  already  been  mentioned. 


The  Allegheny  Plateau 

(26)  Position  ak.nd  Extent 

The  western  part  of  the  Atlantic  highlands  is  called  the  Al- 
legheny Plateau.  It  lies  directly  west  of  the  Api^alachian  belt, 
extends  from  northern  New  York  to  northern  Alabama,  and  in- 
clmles  portions  of  the  states  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania*,  Ohio, 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee.  On  the  east,  it  is  fringed 
with  high  mountains;  on  the  west  and  south  it  slopes  ofi  gradu- 
ally to  the  flat  regions  of  the  interior  and  the  Gulf  shore.  The 
surface  is  regular  arid  even.  This  region  is  rem:irkab'le  for  its 
stores  of  mineral  wealth  and  is  also  still  well  covered  with  tim- 
'ber,  although  in  the  northern  part  much  of  this  has  been  cut 
away.  Tlie  whole  area  of  the  plateau  is  underlain  with  coal  and 
iron,  other  minerals  being  found  but  not  in  sufficient  abundance 
to  warrant  extensive  working. 

(27)  Industries 

In  the  southern  part,  northern  Alabama  has  developed  an 
extensive  iron  and  steel  industry,  and  many  other  manufactories 
have  bee«  established  here  on  account  of  the  cheapness  of  fuel. 
The  soil  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau  is  general- 
ly unfertile,  owing  to  its  sandy  character,  which  allows  thti  water 
to  pass  off  too  rapidly  for  successful  agriculture.  The  middle 
portion  o^  the  plateau,  embracing  most  of  the  state  o.f  Virginia, 
has  abundant  stores  of  coal  and  iron.  Coal  mining  is  the  prin- 
cipal industry  o-f  the  state,  no  considejable  iron  industry  having 
been  developed  because  of  the  greater  cheapness  o^  the  iron  ores 
of  Lake  Superior.  The  &oil  of  ttiis  portion  of  the  Allegheny  Pla- 
tau  has  been  formed  from  the  san'dstones  which  underlie  it  and 
is,  therefore,  unfertile  and  unable  to  support  more  than  a  small 
population.  This  region  is,  geologically  speaking,  very  old;  that 
is  to  say,  it  has  maintained  its  present  form  much  longer  than 
many  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  All  the  streams  and 
rivers  of  the  region  have  had  ample  time  to  wear  deep  valleys 

(29) 


30  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

until  the  surface  of  the  plateau  is  very  rough  and  broken — a 
land  of  steep  hillsides  and  narrow  crooked  valleys,  difficult  of  ap- 
proach and  probably  never  destined  to  be  the  scene  of  great  in- 
dustrial activity. 

The  northern  part  of  the  plateau,  which  includes  the  west- 
ern part  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  eastern  part  of  Ohio,  has  gen- 
erally the  same  appearance  and  resources;  but  it  enjoys  a  great 
advantage  over  West  Virginia  because  of  the  fact  that  it  separ- 
ates the  fertile  plains  of  the  East  and  the  West.  The  great  rail- 
ways cross  or  skirt  this  region,  and  above  all  it  has  been  for 
many  years  and  still  is  the  natural  seat  of  the  iron  and  steel  in- 
dustry of  the  central  west.  The  soil  of  this  region  is  also  more 
fei'tile  than  that  of  the  middle  portion  of  the  plateau. 

(28)  Popul&tion  of  the  Pl&te&u 

The  population  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau  is  chiefly  concen- 
trated in  northern  Alabama  and  in  southwestern  Pennsylvania, 
centers  of  iron  and  steel  production.  Birmingham  in  the  South 
and  Pittsburg  in  the  North  are  large  and  rapidly  growing  cities. 


The  Prairie  Region 


(29)  Position  a.nd  Extent 

Passing  by  the  isolated  groups  of  old  mountains  and  ancient 
rocks  found  in  northern  New  York  and  about  the  upper  lakes, 
we  take  up  the  study  of  the  most  important  geographical  divis- 
ion of  the  United  States  from  the  standpoint  of  its  agricultural 
importance.  The  outlines  of  this  region  are  clearly  indicated 
on  the  map.  It  includes  northwestern  New  York,  the  western 
half  of  Ohio,  a  small  portion  of  northern  Kentucky,  all  of  Indi- 
ana, Illinois  and  Iowa,  portions  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  the 
western  part  of  the  Dakotas  and  ^Montana,  and  northeastern 
Kansas  and  northern  ^lissouri.  Its  area  may  be  seen  to  in- 
clude about  one-sixth  of  the  total  area  of  the  United  States. 

The  surface  features  of  the  prairie  region  are  not  strongly 
marked.    The  entire  region  is  a  level  plain,  in  some  places  rougfh 


GEOGR.VPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  31 

and  broken  with  low  hills  and  bluffs,  but  generally  presenting  a 
flat  and  even  surface.  The  eastern  part  of  the  prairie  region 
was  originally  heavily  wooded,  and  an  abundance  of  timber  is 
still  found,  although  not  enough,  in  most  places,  for  a  profitable 
lumber  industry. 

(30)  River  System  of  the  Prairie 

The  river  system  of  the  prairie  region  is  especially  complete 
and  comprehensive.  It  embraces  the  systems  of  the  Ohio  on 
the  east  and  the  Missouri  on  the  west,  with  their  fiumerous  trib- 
utaries converging  and  emptying  into  the  Mississippi,  which 
forms  the  backbone  of  the  system.  These  rivers  were  formed 
in  more  recent  times  than  the  rivers  of  the  Appalachian  belt 
which  empty  into  the  Atlantic  ocean,and  their  tributary  streams 
have  not,  therefore,  cut  for  themselves  such  deep  channels  as 
have,  for  example,  the  rivers  of  West  Virginia,  so  that  the  flow 
of  the  western  streams  has  not  greatly  damaged  the  soil  as  is  the 
case  on  the  Allegheny  Plateau.  Tliese  rivers  are,  most  of  them, 
navigable  for  some  distance  above  their  mouths  and  were  thus 
of  great  assistance  in  the  early  development  of  the  country  be- 
fore the  advent  of  railways. 

(31)  GresLt  La.kes 

In  addition  to  the  network  of  great  rivers,  the  prairie  region 
is  bordered  on  the  north  by  the  Great  Lakes.  These  lakes  have 
always  afforded  a  water  transportation  for  tihose  sections  bor- 
dering upon  them,  and  even  to-day  they  carry  most  of  the  heavy 
and  bulky  traffic  which  goes  from  the  western  states  to  the 
East. 

The  level  surface  and  the  abundance  of  facilities  for  water 
transportation  made  the  settlement  and  complete  occupation  of 
the  prairie  region  very  rapid.  After  1850  the  railway  develop- 
ment of  the  pirairies  was  carried  on  with  great  energy.  Railway 
building  over  these  level  plains  was  an  easy  matter,  and  the 
prairie  region  has  to-day  one-third  of  the  railway  mileage  of  the 
United  States.  Transportation  facilities  are  so  easily  provided 
for  the  prairies  and  their  surface  offers  so  few  irregularities  that 
it  needed  only  a  fertile  soil  to  make  this  region,  favored  as  it  was 
3 


32  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

with  abundant  rainfall  and  a  healthful  climate,  the  garden  spot 
of  the  world. 

(32)  Soil  of  the  Pra.irie  R.e^ioi\  ^^ 

The  advantage  of  the  prairie  country  in  the  matter  of  soil 
is  equally  pronounced  with  its  other  points  of  superiority.  In 
order  to  understand  this  point  more  clearly,  let  us  consider  for  a 
moment  the  nature  of  the  soil.  Soil  is  composed  of  small  frag- 
ments and  particles  of  rock  combined  with  the  remains  of  ani- 
mals and  plants  which  have  been  restored  to  it  and  which  form 
what  is  known  as  the  soil  covering  or  "humus" — the  open,  por- 
ous covering  which  absorbs  the  rainfall.  The  basis  of  soil  is 
decomposed  rock.  These  rock  particles  contain  the  mineral  ele- 
ments, such  as  magnesia  and  potash,  upon  which  plants  feed. 
The  rootlets  of  the  plants  surround  the  particles  of  soil,  taking 
up  and  absorbing  the  plant  food  which  is  dissolved  out  of  the 
earth  particles  by  the  water  in  the  soil.  The  finer  these  particles, 
and  the  larger  the  amount  of  finely  decomposed  rock  forming 
the  basis  of  any  soil,  the  larger  will  be  the  amount  of  plant  food 
available  and  the  richer  will  be  the  soil. 

The  peculiar  excellence  of  the  prairie  country,  from  tlhe 
standpoint  of  agriculture,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  its  surface  is 
covered  with  a  deep  layer  of  finely  divided  rock,  in  some  places 
making  a  soil  five  or  six  feet  deep.  This  covering  of  decom- 
posed rock  includes  a  great  variety  of  mineral  elements,  so  that 
the  materials  for  plant  food  are  present,  not  merely  in  abund- 
ance, but  in  great  variety.  Thus  the  prairie  region  has  the 
essentials  to  a  highly  developed  agricultural  prosperity — a 
healthful  and  temperate  climate,  a  level  surface,  abundant  trans- 
portation facilities  in  lakes,  rivers,  and  railways,  and  a  deep  and 
fertile  soil.  All  of  these  advantages,  save  the  first  two,  it  owe.^ 
to  a  great  event,  which,  though  it  occurred  unnumbered  ages 
ago,  continues  to  influence  profoundly  the  life  of  the  American 
people. 

(33)  Ice  Age  in  North  America 

The  northern  part  of  the  North  American  continent,  as  well 
as  the  northern  part  of  Europe  and  Asia,  was  at  one  time  cov- 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  33 

ered  with  a  sheet  of  ice  whose  averag^e  thickness  has  been  esti-  I;  i 

mated  at  one  mile.     This  ice  sheet  was  originally  formed  in  the  III 

north  and  moved  down  through  that  part  of  North  America  now 
occupied  by  the  United  States,  covering  at  one  time  and  another 
the  area  north  of  the  Ohio  and  Missouri  Rivers.  These  rivers 
roughly  determine  the  southern  limit  of  what  is  known  as  the 
glaciated  area,  which  also  includes  practically  all  of  what  we  now 
know  as  the  prairies  and  the  whole  of  New  England,  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  This  enormous  body  of  ice  as  it  moved 
down  from  the  north  picked  up  or  pushed  along  everything  that 
was  movable  in  the  territory  over  which  it  passed.  Great  rocks 
were  broken  from  cliffs,  or  the  cliffs  themselves  were  cut  down 
and  broken  to  pieces  by  the  moving  ice  masses.  The  ice  sheet  in 
its  slow  progress  toward  the  south  crushed  and*  ground  the 
enormous  quantities  of  rock  which  it  carried,  reducing  this  rock 
material  to  a  very  much  more  granulated  condition  than  that  in 
Which  it  was  first  received.  The  harder  the  rock  formations 
over  which  this  ice  sheet  passed,  the  greater  would  be  the  re- 
sistance offered  by  the  fragments  bro-ken  -off,  to  the  grinding 
and  crushing  of  the  ice.  After  a  time  the  ice  receded,  that  is  to 
say,  the  great  glacier  began  to  melt  at  its  southern  side  and 
slowly  retreated  northward  toward  the  pole.  As  the  ice  melted, 
all  the  rock  material  which  had  been  brought  down  from  the 
north  was  deposited  in  the  place  where  it  then  happened  to  be. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  glacier,  whether  because  its  thick- 
ness and  weight  had  been  less  than  that  of  the  western  part,  or 
because  the  rocks  whidh  it  carried  were  harder  and  more  resist- 
ant, deposited  over  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and 
the  northern  part  of  Maryland,  an  enormous  number  of  boulders 
of  all  sizes,  besides  a  thick  layer  of  more  finely  divided  rock. 
Most  of  these  boulders  show  in  the  lines  and  grooves  of  their 
surfaces  and  in  their  rounded  forms  the  effects  of  the  grinding 
action  of  the  ice. 

In  the  middle  West,  however,  the  glacier  crushed  t)he  rocks 
to  a  finely  divided  condition  and  when  it  receded  spread  over  the 
whole  surface  of  the  prairies  the  deep  rich  layer  of  soil  material 
from  which  generations  to  come  will  continue  to  grow  abundant 
harvests.     The  famous  soil  of  the  prairies,  therefore,  as  well  as 


34  GEOGRAPlilCAL    DIFFERENCES 

the  boulder  covered  fields  of  the  East,  are  t'he  result  of  the  great 
ice  age  in  America,  when  a  mile's  thickness  of  ice  ground  an  1 
crushed  its  way  southward.  These  glacial  soils  differ  from  most 
other  soils  in  this,  that"  they  were  often  brought  great  distances 
to  their  present  location  and  that,  instead  of  being  of  uniform 
consistency,  they  include  a  great  variety  of  rock  material — lime- 
stone, sandstone,  granite,  shales,  etc.,  all  mixed  and  blended  to- 
gether by  the  ice  in  its  long  journey  from  the  north. 

(34)  Glacta.1  Soils 

These  glacial  soils,  as  will  be  readily  understood,  are  richer 
because  of  this  variety  of  composition.  The  plant  elements  are 
not  merely  abundant  but  they  are  all  represented  in  the  glacial 
soils.  The  United  States  owes  more  to  the  glaciers  than  its 
prairie  soil.  The  level  surface  of  the  prairies,  which  especially 
contributed  to  the  end  of  rapid  settlement  by  making  possible 
the  quick  construction  of  railways,  is  also  due  to  the  glaciers 
which  planed  ofif  and  leveled  down  the  territory  over  which  they 
passed.  It  will  be  remembered  that  a  few  pages  back,  in  speak- 
ing of  West  Virginia,  I  made  the  statement  that  its  surface  was 
too  much  cut  up  by  the  action  of  running  water  to  admit  of 
successful  agriculture.  Consider  the  advantage  to  the  state  of 
West  Virginia  if  that  state  could  be  planed  down  to  a  level  sur- 
face and  the  benefits  conferred  by  the  glaciers  upon  the  western 
country  could  be  realized.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this 
was  the  condition  of  all  the  country  which  is  now  included  in  the 
prairies.  The  streams  had  been  running  so  long  that  they  had 
cut  deep  channels  in  every  direction.  The  glaciers  rem-edied  this 
and  left  the  country  generally  level.  In  the  Eastern  states,  the 
steep  grades  of  the  mountainous  plateau  have  broug^ht  about 
a  new  elevation  of  the  surface  after  the  glaciers  had  planed  it 
ofif  and  the  mountains  of  the  older  Appalachian  belt  were  too 
hard  to  be  worn  entirely  down 

(35)  FormaLtion  of  the  Great  Lakes 

A  final  effect  of  the  glaciers,  which  has  had  a  most  import- 
ant bearing  on  our  national  development  and  some  of  whose 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  35 

results  have  already  been  noted,  was  t'he  formation  of  the  five 
great  lakes  and  of  the  innumerable  smaller  lakes  and  ponds 
which  are  found  in  such  g^reat  numbers  in  the  northern  part  of 
this  country.  The  lakes,  it  is  now  almost  certainly  known, 
were  dug  out  by  the  ice  in  its  movement  over  that  region;  and  of 
the  smaller  lakes,  some  were  formed  in  the  same  manner,  while 
others  were  made  by  the  piling  up  of  rocks  and  rock  material 
by  the  receding  ice.  As  has  been  shown,  the  water  powers  of 
New  England  are  much  greater  because  of  the  ponds  and  nat- 
ural dams  which  are  everywhere  found,  and  the  influence  of  the 
great  lakes  upon  our  prosperity,  in  furnishing  an  important 
transportation  route  between  the  West  and  the  East,  has  also 
been  stated.  The  prairies  have  justly  been  called  the  granary  of 
the  world.  More  bushels  of  the  cereals  are  grown  in  this  re- 
gion than  in  the  same  area  anywhere  else  on  the  globe.  But 
the  almost  inexhaustible  fertility  of  the  prairies,  their  plane  sur- 
face, and  their  means  of  transportation  they  owe  very  largely  to 
the  action  of  the  glaciers  formerly  covering  them. 


The  Southern   Coastal   Plain 

(36)  Gulf  Pl&in 

Let  us  return  to  that  part  of  the  Coastal  Plain  that  borders 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  that  includes  the  pieninsula  of  Florida. 
Reference  should  here  be  made  to  the  map  on  i^age  24,  which 
shows  in  outline  the  limits  of  the  Coastal  Plain.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  it  almost  surrounds  the  southern  part  of  the  Appal- 
achian and  Allegheny  region,  that  it  extends  northward  until  it 
meets  the  glaciated  region  in  southern  Illinois,  and  that  it  is  cut 
in  two  by  a  narrow  strip  of  land,  which  is  designated  on  the  map 
as  the  Flood  Plain  and  which  will  be  examined  later. 

Considering  the  Coastal  Plain  apart  from  the  peninsula  of 
Florida,  we  find  in  it  few  points  of  interest.  It  is  low  along  the 
coast,  as  is  the  Atlantic  coastal  plain,  and  gradually  slopes  to  the 
north  and  west  where  it  passes  into  the  highlands  of  the  Appal- 
achian region.  Its  soil  is  generally  fertile,  having  been  formed 
chiefly  by  the  decomposition  of  the  underlying  rocks.     Along 


36  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

the  coast,  however,  occurs  the  same  arrangement  of  sand  dunes 
and  swamps  that  are  found  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  These 
swamp  lands  are  of  vast  extent,  including  thousands  of  square 
miles.  They  also  occur  on  the  borders  of  streams  emptying 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

(37)  Clinva.te  of  the  Gulf  PlaLin 

The  climate  of  this  region  is  naturally  much  warmer  than 
that  of  the  prairies  and  the  rainfall  is  much  greater,  often  reach- 
ing 60  inches  per  annum  as  against  35  inches  on  the  prairies. 
This  combination  of  heat  and  moisture,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  large  swamp  area,  makes  the  climate  of  the  lands  bordering 
on  the  Gulf  and  the  streams  which  empty  into  it  generally  un- 
healthful.  Drainage  operations,  however,  have  the  effect  of  not 
merely  reclaiming  the  soil,  but  of  improving  the  climate. 

One  great  disadvantage  of  the  Gulf  region  is  the  absence 
of  good  harbors.  The  waves  of  the  Gulf  are  continually  piling 
sand  into  the  channels  between  the  sand  dunes  and  the  shore, 
which  makes  it  difficult  to  keep  navigation  open.  The  same  dif- 
ficulty is  met  with  on  the  northern  coast,  but  there  the  numerous 
drowned  valleys  afford  ample  harborage.  On  the  Gulf  coast, 
these  submerged  vg,lleys  do  not  exist  and  the  commerce  of  this 
region  is  carried  on  under  great  difficulties.  The  recent  dis- 
aster which  befell  the  city  of  Galveston  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
along  the  whole  Texas  coast  the  most  available  location  for  a 
city  was  on  a  low  sand  dune,  exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  the 
storms  that  sweep  up  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  view  of  this 
fact  of  insufficient  harborage,  the  future  development  of  the 
trade  with  South  American  countries — if  it  is  to  be  carried  on 
through  the  Gulf — must  pass  out  and  in  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Tlie  Coastal  Plain  is  well  forested  with  pine,  cypress,  pal- 
metto, and  the  southern  varieties  of  oak,  while  in  the  northern 
part  the  broad-leaved  trees  of  the  northern  states  are  also  met 
with. 


The  Peninsula  of  Florida 

^38)  Florida  Peninsula^. 

Properly  speaking,  the  peninsula  of  Florida  is  not  a  part  of 
the  Southern  Coastal  Plain,  although  it  is  here  identified  with  it. 
It  is  unique  in  its  structure,  having  been  formed  at  some  remote 
time  by  an  uplift  o[  a  portion  of  the  floor  of  the  sea,  while  its 
southern  extension  is  being  constantly  increased  by  the  work  of 
the  coral  insects.  Only  the  backbone  or  ridge  of  this  uplift  of 
the  sea  floor  is  visible  above  the  surface.  Less  than  one-tenth 
of  the  total  area  of  the  uplift  has  been  thus  uncovered.  The  sur- 
face of  the  land  is  underlain  by  limestone  formation. 

Although  Florida  represents  the  crest  of  a  ridge,  the  ridge 
has  a  depression  along  the  greater  part  of  its  length;  that  is  to 
say,  the  peninsula  is  a  trough  or  channel  for  two-thirds  of  its 
length,  the  shore  lines  standing  much  hig^her  than  the  interior. 
This  does  not,  however,  apply  to  the  northern  part  of  the  penin- 
sula, which  consists  of  vast  plains  of  sand  formed  before  the 
southern  portion  was  raised  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The 
greater  part  of  the  peninsula,  owing  to  this  peculiar  formation,  is 
a  swamp  of  about  28,000  square  miles  in  extent.  The  southern 
portion  is  at  times  almost  a  lake.  Tliis  fact  is  due  in  part  to  the 
configuration  of  the  land,  which  slopes  away  from  the  sea  toward 
the  center  of  the  peninsula,  not  permitting  natural  drainage, 
and  in  part  to. the  abundant  rainfall  due  to  exposure  to  moist 
equatorial  winds. 

{59)  Agricultural  Advantages 

Furthermore,  the  rivers  which  might  be  supposed  to  cut 
their  way  through  to  the  sea  and  so  establish  channels  of  drain- 
age, sink  into  the  ground  and  escape  througli  underground  chan- 
nels, leaving  only  a  small  portion  of  the  peninsula  available  for 
agriculture. 

Aside  from  the  conditions  just  stated.  Florida  is  in  every 
way  suited  to  successful  husbandry.     The  rainfall  is  abundant 

(37) 


m 


38  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

and  the  climate  is  sub-tropical,  owing  to  its  southerly  position. 
If  its  soil  were  to  be  reclaimed,the  peninsula  (which  contains  i8,- 
000,000  acres  of  swamp  land  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  the  large 
sandy  plains  in  the  north)  would  become  the  source  of  supply 
for  the  United  States  of  most  of  the  tropical  products  now  im- 
ported. All  the  sugar,  the  fibres,  and  the  tropical  fruits  which 
are  now  brought  into  the  United  States  from  foreign  countries 
could  readily  be  produced  in  Florida  if  the  peninsula  were  to  re- 
ceive proper  drainage.  This  work  of  reclamation  is  not  such  a 
difficult  task  as  might  be  imagined.  It  presents  a  simple  prob- 
lem in  drainage,  with  the  additional  feature  that  the  channels 
must  be  made  deeper  as  they  approach  the  shore.  Already  a 
considerable  amount  of  work  has  been  done  in  this  direction,  and 
numerous  drainage  and  land  companies  are  every  year  formed 
to  develop  portions  of  swamp  lands  in  Florida  and  other  parts 
of  the  Coastal  Plain.  In  north  Florida,  the  development  of  a 
fertile  soil  out  of  the  sand  plains  has  been  greatly  furthered  by 
the  presence  along  the  east  coast  of  large  deposits  of  phosphate 
of  lime,  which  makes  an  excellent  fertilizer.  Indeed,  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain  is  chiefly  interesting  be- 
cause of  the  possibilities  of  the  future  develop'ment  of  its  swamp 
lands,  and  nowhere  in  the  United  States  are  there  more  promis- 
ing opportunities  for  wisely  directed  effort  to  reap  a  rich  return. 


The  Flood  Plain  of  the  Mississippi 

(40)  Extent  and  FormaLtion 

The  accompanying  map  shows  what  is  known  as  the  Missis- 
sippi Flood  Plain,  or  that  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley  border- 
ing the  great  river  from  Cairo,  Illinois,  to  New  Orleans.  It  is 
believed  that  the  lower  Mississippi  was  formerly  a  bay  which 
extended  far  up  the  valley  and  into  which  various  rivers  emp- 
tied. The  floor  of  this  bay  was  uplifted  by  some  geological  con- 
vulsion, just  as  the  floor  of  the  sea  was  raised  to  form  the  pen- 
insula of  Florida,  and  the  rivers  that  were  formerly  independent 
were  in  this  way  "grafted  on  a  single     trunk"     to     form     the 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  FLOOD  PLAIN. 

— From  Shaler's  United  States  of  ^America. 


.    i 


40  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

lower  Mississippi.  The  upper  Mississippi,  which  rises  »n 
Lake  Itasca,  was  not  originally  joined  with  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi and  had,  in  fact,  no  closer  connection  with  it  than  the 
Missouri,  the  Ohio,  or  the  Arkansas  rivers.  The  Mississippi 
River  of  that  day  emptied  straig'ht  from  the  north  into  the  long 
bay  that  formerly  occupied  the  site  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  and 
for  this  reason  it  has  been  joined  in  our  nomenclature  to  the 
lower  river.  The  Mississippi  might  as  well  be  said  to  rise  in 
Montana  or  Pennsylvania  with  the  Missouri  or  the  Ohio,  as  m 
Minnesota  with  the  upper  Mississippi. 

The  lower  Mississippi,  then,  which  runs  through  the  Flood 
Plain,  is  nothing  but  the  channel  into  which  empty  the  great 
rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Its  drainage  basin,  embracing 
1,500,000  square  miles,  is,  next  to  that  of  the  Amazon  River,  the 
largest  in  the  world.  The  great  rivers  which  empty  into  it  every 
year  carry  down  millions  of  tons  of  rock  and  earth,  much  of 
which  is  swept  along  by  the  main  current  to  the  Gulf.  The  silt 
which  the  stream  carries  with  it,  constantly  changes  the  form 
of  the  river  floor,  and  the  immense  stream,  deflected  from  its 
course  by  fresh  accumulations  of  sand  and  silt  in  its  bed,  swings 
from  one  side  of  the  flood  plain  to  another,  holding  an  irregular 
and  crooked  course,  and  often  cutting  for  itself  a  new  channel 
across  some  projection  of  the  shore  whic'h  it  has  partially  sep- 
arated from  the  mainland.  To  further  illustrate  this  point,  I 
have  inserted  a  map  of  the  confluence  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Arkansas  rivers. 

(41)  Agricultural  DIsaLdvai\(a.^es 

You  will  observe  that  there  are  shown  on  this  map  five 
places  where  the  river  can  make  cut-ofifs  and  so  change  its  chan- 
nel. From  this  cause,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  great  floods 
that  sweep  down  the  lower  Mississippi  at  frequent  intervals,  the 
area  of  the  flood  plain,  across  which  the  river  swings  and  turns, 
is  low  and  swampy,  cut  up  and  intersected  by  innumerable  ponds 
and  cliannels,  or  bayous  as  they  are  called.  Agriculture  is  car- 
ried on  with  great  difficulty  under  these  circumstances.  The  soil 
of  this  region  is  extremely  fertile,  because  it  is  constantly  being 
revived  by  new  accumulations  of  silt  which  the  floods  carry  over 


I 


GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES  41 

it;  but  the  uncertainty  of  these  same  floods  makes  farming  on 
the  flood  plain  precarious  business. 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  deepen  the  channel 
and  so  confine  the  river  to  regular  and  certain  bounds.  The 
channel  has  been  dredged  in  many  places  in  the  hope  that  the 
river  would  "scour"  a  deep  bed,  and  the  banks  have  been 
strengthened  and  raised  by  a  system  of  levees  or  earth  embank- 
ments similar  to  those  which  keep  out  the  sea  from  the  Nether- 
lands. Tliese  devices  answer  well  enough  in  ordinary  seasons 
when  the  river  is  low,  and  then  large  crops  are  raised  from  the 
fertile  fields  of  the  plain.  But  let  a  spring  of  heavy  rains  follow 
a  winter  of  deep  snows,  and  the  river  systems  of  the  whole  Mis- 
sissippi valley  discharge  their  widely  accumulated  floods  into  the 
lower  Mississippi  in  the  form  of  a  moving  lake  from  thirty  to 
fifty  miles  wide.  Such  floods  sweep  away  all  barriers  and  move 
down  the  full  width  of  the  channel  destroying  crops  and  planta- 
tions and  inflicting  damage  which  years  of  prosperity  hardly 
suffice  to  restore.  For  this  reason  the  flood  plain  will  probably 
never  reach  its  full  development.  Much  of  it  must  be  left  to  the 
mercy  of  the  river. 

The  irregular  course  and  shifting  bed  of  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi also  limit  its  usefulness  as  a  means  of  transportation.  The 
risk  and  trouble  of  navigation  are  so  great  that  the  railroads 
have  taken  from  the  river  the  bulk  of  this  traffic,  and  tliere  is 
little  reason  to  believe  that  the  Mississippi  will  ever  become  an 
important  highway  of  commerce.  It  is  only  within  recent  years 
that  it  has  been  deemed  possible,  by  a  system  of  jetties  pJaced 
at  one  of  the  four  outlets  of  the  river,  to  compel  the  stream  to 
scour  out  a  deep  channel  and  thus  insure  the  position  of  New 
Orleans  as  a  seaport.  This  work  of  keeping  the  channel  open 
must  constantly  be  attended  to,  for  the  river  is  all  the  time  build- 
ing out  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


Trans-Mississippi   Highlands 

(42)  Oz&rk  Plateau 

The  Missouri  river  roughly  marks  the  southern  boundary 


42  GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES 

of  the  glaciated  area.  There  is,  however,  a  considerable  area 
south  of  the  river  v^hich  is  covered  with  a  thick  sheet  of  finely 
powdered  rock  material.  This  layer  of  drift  is  in  some  places 
thirty  feet  thick,  and  affords  a  soil  of  inexhaustible  fertility. 
The  land  south  of  the  Missouri  rises  gradually  into  the  Ozark 
Plateau,  which  includes  southern  Missouri,  eastern  Kansas, 
northern  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  and  a  small  part  of  east- 
ern Oklahoma.  This  plateau  is  well  wooded  and  generally  fer- 
tile, the  soil  (with  the  exception  of  the  sheet  of  glacial  drift 
above  mentioned)  being  formed  from  the  underlying  rock. 
The  plateau,  however,  includes  the  Ozark  Mountains,  whose 
peaks  reach  2000  feet  in  height,  and  this  mountainous  region 
is  unfit  for  agriculture.  The  climate  is  that  which  prevails  in 
the  prairie  country  to  the  north. 

(43)  Arka.nsa.s  HighleLnds 

South  of  the  Ozark  Plateau  lie  the  Arkansas  Highlands,  a 
region  much  lower  than  the  elevated  Ozark  country  to  the 
north.  Its  surface  is  much  broken  by  sharp  ridges  and  narrow 
valleys,  closely  resembling  the  Appalachian  region  described  in 
Par.  18.  Agriculture  can  be  carried  on  in  the  valleys  only. 
This  country  is  densely  forested  with  pine  and  has  been  little 
developed.  There  is  an  abundance  of  good  water  power  at 
the  points  where  the  streams  descend  into  the  plain.  The  clim- 
ate is  somewhat  warmer  than  that  of  the  Ozark  region,  but  its 
general  features  are  substantially  the  same. 


The  Great  Plains 

(44)  LocaLtion  and  Extent 

The  region  of  the  great  plains,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
the  Great  American  Desert,  lies  between  the  looth  meridian  of 
west  longitude  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Its  rainfall,  while 
not  sufficient  for  field  agriculture,  is  ample  for  forage  purposes, 
so  that  this  section  is  the  seat  of  a  large  cattle  and  sheep  in- 
dustry. The  plains  are  l)y  no  means  so  level  as  their  name 
implies,  large  areas   being  rough   and   broken   by   hills.     The 


4 


GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES  43 

Streams,  moreover,  have  cut  channels  of  ccjnsiderable  depth, 
making  the  surface  extremely  irregular.  In  various  places, 
such  as  the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota,  the  couniry  is  mountainous. 
The  southwestern  part  of  the  region  is  known  as  the 
Llano  Estacado  or  Staked  Plain,  a  plateau  in  northern  Texas, 
which  differs  from  the  rest  of  the  plain  region  in  its  climate, 
which  is,  in  summer,  extremely  hot  and  dry.  The  rainfall  of 
this  region  is  at  all  times  uncertain,  and  stock  raising  is  here  a 
precarious  business.  It  is  on  the  Llano  Estacado  that  the 
winds  are  heated  which  periodically  scorch  the  green  crops  of 
the  western  prairie  country,  and  often  extend  their  influence 
as  far  east  as  Chicago.  Were  it  not  for  this  large  surface  of 
hot  dry  soil,  large  areas  of  western  Kansas  and  western  Ne- 
braska which  have  now  been  almost  abandoned  as  farming; 
lands  could  be  successfully  tilled.  It  has  been  proposed  to 
cover  the  surface  of  the  Staked  Plain  with  some  quick  grow- 
ing and  hardy  plant — even  weeds  such  as  the  Russian  thistle 
having  been  suggested — so  as  to  prevent  the  excessive  heating 
of  the  winds  which  blow  to  the  northeast  and  which  not  only 
scorch  and  wither  the  growing  crops  of  the  western  prairie  re- 
gion, but  sweep  away  all  the  moisture  in  the  air  which  might 
otherwise  fall  in  rain.  The  trees  of  the  Great  Plain  are  found 
along  the  streams  and  in  the  scattered  groups  of  mountains. 

(45)  Black  Hills 

The  Black  Hills  of  Dakota  are  the  location  of  a  considera- 
ble lumbering  industry.  The  summer  climate  of  this  region  is 
hot  and  dry,  with  a  light  and  variable  rainfall.  The  winters  are 
cold,  but  because  the  snow-fall  is  light,  stock  is  supported  with- 
out much  difficulty  in  the  open  ranges.  At  times,  however, 
violent  winds  at  zero  temperature  sweep  down  from  the  north 
carrying  clouds  of  fine  snow.  These  storms  are  called  bliz- 
zards and  always  result  in  great  destruction  of  stock,  though  in 
recent  years  stock  men  have  recognized  the  necessity  of  pro- 
tecting their  sheep  and  cattle  and  have  built  sheds  for  storm 
shelter  so  that  blizzard  losses  have  diminished. 


The  Cordilleran  District 

(46)  LocaLtlon  and  PKysica.!  FeaLtures 

That  part  of  western  North  America  lying  between  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  coast  ranges  of  the  Pacific  is  in  real- 
ity a  vast  plateau,  which  is  in  places  looo  miles  wide,  and  whicii 
is  intersected  in  every  direction  by  mountain  ranges  forming 
valleys  and  basins  of  varying  size.  The  rainfall  of  this  region 
is  scanty,  nowhere  exceeding  20  inches,  while  in  the  southern 
part  12  inches  is  the  general  maximum.  This  rainfall  occurs 
mainly  during  the  winter  months  in  the  form  of  snow,  accumu- 
lations of  which  feed  the  rivers  of  the  region.  The  soil  of  the 
Cordilleran  Plateau  is  fertile,  consisting  of  deep  layers  of  de- 
composed rock  formed  partly  by  glacial  action  and  partly  from 
the  disintegration  of  the  underlying  rocks.  Nearly  all  the  plant 
food  which  has  been  stored  up  in  this  thick  layer  of  rock  is 
still  present.  In  a  rainy  country  where  springs  and  rills  pene- 
trate every  acre  of  ground,  much  of  the  plant  food  stored  up  in 
the  soil  by  the  action  of  nature  or  by  artificial  fertilization  is 
constantly  being  dissolved  and  washed  away. 

(47)  Irrigation 

As  an  important  consequence  of  the  conditions  just  stated, 
wherever  in  the  valleys  the  water  of  the  streams  can  be  con- 
veyed over  the  soil,  the  crops  are  astonishingly  abundant.  Ir- 
rigation is  the  most  certain  and  profitable  of  all  forms  of  cul- 
tivation. The  proprietor  of  an  irrigated  farm  in  the  Cordil- 
leran Plateau  is  certain  at  all  times  and  in  every  year  of  a  plen- 
tiful harvest.  His  sunshine  is  perpetual  and  for  water  he  need 
not  depend  on  the  clouds.  Under  these  conditions  it  is  no  won- 
der that  the  yield  of  irrigated  land  in  the  West,  on  certain  crops, 
is  five  fold  that  of  the  rich  soils  of  the  Prairie  states,  or  that 
as  high  as  $1000  per  acre  is  often  paid  for  an  irrigated  farm. 
Careful  governmental  investigation  establishes  the  fact  that  iio.- 
000,000  acres  in  the  Cordilleran  region  can  be  put  under  water. 

(44) 


or  THF 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

ii  \rp\ 

GEOGRAPIlt^XL'    DIFFERENCES  45 

This  is  equivalent  to  550,000,000  acres  of  prairie  land — an  area 
three  and  a  half  times  as  large,  measuring  merely  by  a  produc- 
tive capacity,  as  the  combined  area  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois', 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  which  in  1900  supported  a  population 
of  15,985,581. 

Much  of  this  irrigable  region  has  been  taken  up,  but  the 
larger  part  of  the  area  is  still  open  for  settlement.  It  should 
be  noted  that  in  the  northwestern  part  agriculture  is  possible 
without  irrigation.  In  the  southwest,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
rainfall  is  too  scanty  to  afiford  any  considerable  supply  of  water, 
and  the  entire  state  of  Nevada,  for  example,  must  remain  in  a 
practically  desert  condition.  In  some  of  the  uplands,  espec- 
ially in  the  neighborhood  of  the  streams,  and  where  forest  cov- 
ering exists,  stock  raising  can  be  carried  on  to  good  advantage. 
Northern  Arizona  is  the  seat  of  a  large  stock  industry,  as  is 
Wyoming  also. 

(48)  MinersLls 

The  mineral  deposits  of  the  Cordilleran  region  are  import- 
ant and  widely  distributed.  All  the  principal  metals  except  tin 
are  p'lentiful;  and  the  deposits  of  coal,  although  of  inferior 
quality,  are  abundant  and  will  one  day  be  utilized  to  support  a 
large  metallurgical  industry. 


The  Pacific  Coast 

(49)  SxirfeLce  aLivd  Divisions 

The  Cordilleran  region  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  lofty 
range  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  which  in  Mount  Whit- 
ney reach  an  extreme  height  of  15,000  feet.  West  of  the  Sierra 
Nevadas  lie  the  Cascade  Ranges  of  Oregon  and  Washington 
and  several  smaller  ranges.  The  entire  west  coast  is  divided 
into  a  sub-arid  region  and  a  region  where  rainfall  is  abundant. 
The  former  extends  from  Lower  California  up  to  the  35th  par- 
allel of  latitude.  Its  boundaries  are  indicated  on  the  map,  page 
17.  This  region  also  consists  of  two  parts,  the  area  between 
the  Coast  Range  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  that  which  lies 


46  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

between  the  Coast  Range  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  and 
which  is  known  as  the  Great  Valley.  The  climate  of  this  region 
is  mild  and  equable,  owing  to  its  close  proximity  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Its  rainfall  is  scanty,  although  gradually  increasing 
^rom  south  to  north. 

Here  the  year  is  divided  into  a  wet  and  a  dry  season,  the 
latter  beginning  in  the  late  spring  and  continuing  for  six 
months.  The  nearness  of  the  Great  Valley  and  the  Coast  Belt 
to  high  mountains  covered  with  snow  throughout  the  year 
makes  it  possible  to  supplement  the  scanty  rainfall  with  exten- 
sive systems  of  irrigation,  so  that  California  is  one  of  the  most 
productive  states  in  the  Union.  The  mildness  of  the  climate 
favors  the  culture  of  sub-tropical  fruits,  which  are  shipped  as 
far  east  as  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  the  annual  yield  of  the 
wheat  fields  in  1900  amounted  to  28,543,628  bushels. 

(50)  Mii\era.Is  a.nd  Forests 

The  minerals  of  California  are  abundant,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  coal,  which  is  of  poor  quality.  Almost  all  the  coal  used 
in  the  state  is  imported  from  Australia,  Great  Britain  and  Brit- 
ish Columbia.  The  English  coal  is  brought  at  very  low  charges 
in  steamers  returning  to  California  for  new  cargoes  and  which 
otherwise  would  have  to  return  in  ballast.  Bituminous  coal 
sells  in  California  at  from  $6.00  to  $9.00  per  ton,  and  the  high 
price  of  coal  is  the  most  serious  obstacle  to  the  commercial  de- 
velopment of  the  state. 

The  forests  of  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Range  and  also  along  the  coast  belt  originally  comprised  150,- 
000  square  miles.  They  consisted  mainly  of  redwood  trees  and 
the  yield  of  a  single  acre  has  amounted  to  2,000,000  square  feet, 
board  measure.  Single  trees  have  yielded  75,000  square  feet 
of  timber.  The  forests  of  California,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
Cordilleran  range,  are  an  inheritance  from  a  time  when  the 
rainfall  was  more  abundant;  and  when  destroyed  by  fire,  as 
frequently  happens  to  large  tracts,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
restore  them. 


The  Columbia  District 

(51)  Industriak.1  Importa-nce 

North  of  California  and  including  a  strip  of  coast  looo 
miles  long,  with  an  average  width  of  200  miles,  is  the  Columbia 
District.  Its  boundaries  are  clearly  indicated  on  the  map. 
This  is  in  some  respects  a  region  of  greater  industrial  promise 
than  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  The  climate  of  the 
Columbia  country  much  resembles  that  of  Great  Britain,  being 
mild  and  equable  the  year  through.  The  rainfall  is  extremely 
heavy,  reaching  an  average  of  60  inches  and  in  places  rising  to 
100  inches,  which  is  due  to  the  impinging  of  the  moisture-laden 
winds  that  blow  from  the  warm  currents  of  the  Pacific,  upon  the 
Cascade  Mountains. 

(52)  Harbors  and  Other  Resources 

The  southern  part  of  the  Pacific  slope  is  greatly  hampered 
by  lack  of  good  harbors.  California  has  only  one  good  harbor, 
in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco;  but  the  Columbia  country,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  has  the  great  inden- 
tation of  Puget  Sound  which  reaches  deep  into  the  state  of 
Washington  and  affords  a  great  number  of  excellent  harbors 
by  the  sharp  curves  of  its  coast.  The  most  ample  facilities  for 
over-sea  commerce  are  here  present,  and  the  extensive  district 
about  Puget  Sound  also  has  the  advantage  of  water  transporta- 
tion for  domestic  trade. 

The  soil  of  this  region  is  volcanic  in  origin  with  some  gla- 
cial drift.  It  is  deep,  and  with  the  benefits  of  the  heavy  rainfall, 
is  very  productive.  The  yield  of  wheat  and  oats  in  Washington 
is  larger  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  The 
mineral  deposits  of  this  district  are  extensive,'  including  the 
more  important  metals  and  abundant  stores  of  coal. 

(53)  IndustriaLl  AdvaLiita^es 

An  abundance  of  water  power  is,  however,  a  more  import- 

'  (47) 


) 


48  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

ant  advantage  for  future  development  than  a  coal  supp'ly,  and 
this  is  a  land  of  waterfalls.  The  heavy  rainfall  tumbles  down 
the  steep  mountains,  furnishing  a  reservoir  of  power  for  future 
industrial  enterprise  almost  beyond  calculation. 

The  forest  covering  of  this  country  is  the  heaviest  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  stated  that  a  yield  of  200,000  feet  per  acre 
is  common,  and  that  over  an  area  of  25,000  square  miles  in 
Washington  250,000  feet  to  the  acre  is  a  fair  estimate.  The 
trees  most  commonly  found  are  the  red  fir  and  red  cedar. 

(54)  Peculiek.rhies 

The  Pacific  Coast  Range  is  peculiar  in  that  it  is  a  world 
within  itself.  Separated  as  it  is  from  the  eastern  part  of  the 
United  States  by  the  high  mountains  of  the  Cordilleras,  it  is 
forced  from  necessity  to  become  self-sufiEicient.  From  the  brief 
account  of  its  resources  which  has  been  given,  it  may  be  seen 
that  this  district  has  within  itself  the  materials  of  a  complete 
industrial  structure,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  group  of 
tropical  products,  and  even  of  these  some  are  represented.  If 
the  Pacific  slope  is  to  be  joined  with  any  other  part  of  the  world 
in  the  bonds  of  commercial  intercourse,  it  will  probably  be  with 
the  Pacific  Islands  and  the  mainland  of  Asia.  The  Hawaiian 
Islands,  now  a  part  of  the  United  States,  already  furnish  much 
of  the  sugar  consumed  on  the  Pacific  Slope. 

(55)  General  Summary  of  the  Economic  Geography  of  the  United  States 

In  order  to  condense  and  summarize  the  ground  which  has 
been  gone  over,  let  us  examine  the  railway  map  of  the  United 
States  on  the  opposite  page.  This  map  shows  the  location  of 
the  principal  lines  of  railway  in  1899,  by  which  time  the  railway 
system  of  the  country  had  taken  substantially  the  form  it  still 
maintains.  The  number  and  direction  of  the  lines  in  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  serve  to  review  and  illustrate  the 
geographical  features  we  have  just  been  discussing.  Other 
things  being  equal,  railways  will  increase  in  proportion  as  pop- 
ulation is  dense  and  grades  are  easy.  A  dense  popmlation,  ex- 
cept in  rare  cases,  will  not  be  found  outside  a  fiat  level  country 
which  is  well  suited  for  agriculture,  so  that  the  flat  lands  and 


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50  GEOGRAPHICAL    DIFFERENCES 

the  railways  will  coincide.  It  should  not  be  inferred,  however, 
that  productive  areas  are  to  be  found  only  where  railway  lines 
are  numerous.  The  backwardness  of  railway  development  may 
be  entirely  due  to  slow  industrial  growth,  even  in  regions  where 
natural  conditions  are  favorable. 

Another  point — railway  lines  always  follow  the  easy  grades, 
so  in  a  plain  country  the  general  direction  will  be  in  a  straight 
line  and  in  a  mountainous  country  curves  and  turns  will  be  num- 
erous. 

You  will  observe  first  that  the  railways  are  few  and  far 
apart  in  northern  New  England.  This  taUies  with  what  we 
have  said  of  the  harsh  climate  and  the  rough  and  stony  soil  of 
that  region.  Passing  into  southern  New  England,  we  enter  the 
region  of  water  power  and  manufacturing  and  approach  the 
great  markets  of  the  West  to  which  these  mills  send  their  pro- 
ducts. Agriculture  is  also  more  flourishing,  on  account  of  the 
milder  climate  prevailing  in  southern  New  England.  Farther 
south,  in  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  we  find  an 
exact  accord  between  the  arrangement  of  the  railway  lines  and 
the  geographical  features  of  the  country.  These  states,  it  will 
be  remembered,  include  the  Coastal  Plain  in  New  Jersey,  south- 
eastern New  York,  and  southeastern  Pennsylvania.  Northwest- 
ern New  York  comprises  a  portion  of  the  prairie  country,  and 
the  great  valley  of  the  Hudson  extends  up  the  eastern  part  of 
this  state.  Along  the  coast  are  found  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  centers  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  with  the 
smaller  cities  adjoinirfg,  while  in  western  Pennsylvania  is  the 
seat  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry. 

Observe  how  this  description  is  repeated  in  the  railway  map. 
The  Coastal  Plain,  until  the  sand  reaches  of  southern  New  Jer- 
sey are  approached,  is  a  perfect  network  of  railway  lines,  indi- 
cating the  presence  of  a  dense  population  engaged  in  agricult- 
ure and  manufacturing.  The  railways  also  run  up  the  Hudson 
River  valley  and  turn  directly  west  at  Albany,  following  the  line 
of  the  Mohawk  valley.  In  the  prairie  country  of  western  New 
York,  especialW  where  the  commerce  of  the  lakes  centers  at 
Buffalo,  railways  are  numerous.  In  the  plateau  and  Appalach- 
ian region,  however,  where  a  rough  and  broken  country  hamp- 


GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES  51 

ers  the  fanner,  and  where  building  is  difficult,  the  railway  lines 
decrease  in  number.  In  northwestern  Pennsylvania,  although 
this  highland  region  is  unsuited  for  agriculture,  the  presence 
of  a  large  mining  population  cxpJains  the  rapid  railway  devel- 
opment. Numerous  sharp  spurs  and  turns  and  the  general 
roundabout  direction  of  the  lines  here,  as  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  state,  show  how  mountainous  and  irregular  the 
country  is.  The  main  lines  follow  the  larger  streams,  and  the 
branch  lines  run  up  the  small  valleys  to  reach  coal  mines  and 
the  mills  depending  on  them.  In  western  Pennsylvania  and 
eastern  Ohio  the  presence  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  al- 
though this  is  a  plateau  region,  explains  the  density  of  the  rail- 
way lines.  The  mountainous  character  of  the  country  again 
appears  in  the  twists  and  turns  of  the  railroads, 

(56;  The  Western  United  States 

Passing  now  to  the  West  we  come  into  the  prairie  country. 
The  arrangement  of  railway  lines  here,  even  without  the  de- 
scription of  this  region  which  has  previously  been  given,  would 
show  the  character  of  the  country.  Practically  the  entire  field 
is  occupied  by  a  dense  population.  That  the  country  is  fiat  and 
unbroken  appears  from  the  direction  of  the  lines,  which  are  in 
no  place  turned  aside  by  highlands  or  mountain  chains.  The 
only  change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  railway  map  of  thii 
region  is  in  the  increasing  number  of  branch  lines. 

Continuing  west  from  the  prairie  region,  we  see  clearly 
shown  in  the  map,  the  character  of  the  Great  Plains  and  the 
Cordilleran  Plateau.  With  the  exception  of  the  silver  mining 
region  of  Colorado,  and  a  limited  territory  about  the  Great  Sah 
Lake,  there  are  in  this  section  only  the  great  trunk  lines  which 
connect  the  prairies  with  the  Pacific  slope.  As  irrigation  anl 
mining  enterprises  develop,  the  number  of  branch  lines  increases 
and  will  continue  to  do  so,  though  this  region  can  never  hope 
to  rival  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  in  its  railway  mileage. 
The  railroads  of  California  center  about  San  Francisco  and 
I  OS  Angeles,  being  almost  entirely  west  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains,  and  indicate  where  the  fertile  lands  of  the  state  are 


52  GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES 

to  be  found.  The  Puget  Sound  region  and  also  the  western 
part  of  the  state  of  Oregon  are  well  supplied  with  railways,  but 
the  greater  part  of  the  area  of  these  two  states  is  too  arid  and 
barren  to  support  a  large  population. 

(57)  Southern  StaLfes 

Passing  now  to  the  Southern  states,  we  notice  first  that  the 
arid  plains  of  west  Texas  have  hardly  any  railways,  while  the 
fertile  district  which  includes  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  and 
the  coast  line  is  well  supplied.  The  relatively  unfertile  regions 
included  in  the  Arkansas  and  Missouri  highlands  are  clearly 
m'arked  out  by  the  absence  of  railways,  the  lines  which  reach 
the  southwest  skirting  the  eastern  side  of  the  highland  region. 
The  flood  plain  of  the  Mississippi  is  well  supplied  with  railways, 
the  general  direction  of  the  lines  being  north  and  south.  This 
indicates  how  successful  the  railroads  have  been  in  competing 
with  the  river,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  its  navigation. 

Observe  next  the  railway  lines  in  the  upland  region  of  the 
south,  starting  from  northern  Alabama  and  extending  up 
through  West  Virginia.  Nothing  could  more  exactly  indicate 
the  relative  barrenness  of  this  section  than  the  small  amount  of 
its  railway  mileage.  Only  in  the  southern  part,  including  the 
districts  about  Birmingham,  Alabama,  and  Chattanooga,  Ten- 
nessee, where  the  southern  iron  industry  has  been  developed, 
do  the  lines  of  railway  multiply  to  such  an  extent  as  to  prove 
the  presence  of  a  large  industrial  population.  West  Virginia 
and  Kentucky  are  almost  entirely  dependent  on  coal  and  lum- 
ber to  sustain  their  railways,  and  the  development  of  these  in- 
dustries in  recent  years  has  caused  the  railroads  in  this  region 
to  multiply.  It  will  be  also  observed  how  the  mountainous 
character  of  this  section  is  shown  by  the  sharp  turns  and  curves 
of  the  railway  lines  and  by  the  numerous  spurs  around  Birming- 
ham and  Chattanooga  and  the  West  Virginia  region,  which 
show  how  the  railways  penetrate  the  crooked  valleys  to  reach 
coal,  iron,  or  timber.  The  central  region  of  the  south,  lying 
between  the  uplands  and  the  coast,  has  a  great  number  of  lines 
which  are  sustained  by  the  cotton  industry.  This  region  is  des- 
tined, when  its  agricultural  possibilities  shall  have  been  fully 


GEOGRAPHICAL     DIFFERENCES  53 

developed,  to  have  as  large  a  railway  mileage  as  the  prairie 
country  to  the  north.  But  for  the  exhaustion  caused  by  the 
Civil  War,  it  would  be  much  nearer  solid  prosperity  than  it  now 
is.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  abundance  of  water 
power,  the  large  timber  resources,  and  the  close  proximity  of 
coal  deposits,  combined  with  the  fertile  soil  and  the  warm,  moist 
climate,  insure  to  this  section  a  prosperous  future. 

We  come  now  to  the  railways  of  the  Atlantic  coast  and  the 
Gulf  Plain,  and  here  we  see  at  once  the  obstacles  which  have 
been  interposed  to  their  industrial  development  by  the  swamps 
and  sand  dunes  of  these  regions.  It  is  to  be  observed  from 
Maryland  to  Louisiana  that  the  coast  district  has  few  railways. 
The  condition  of  southern  Florida  is  perfectly  described  by  the 
absence  of  railroads  in  that  section.  This  great  region  has  yet 
to  be  reclaimed  and  added  to  the  productive  area  of  the  United 
States. 


PART  II. 

AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 
SECTION  I. 

(58)  Impor(2k.nce  of  IntellectuaLl  Training  for  Success  in  Business 

In  the  first  part  of  this  book  we  have  passed  in  review  the 
main  geographical  features  of  the  United  States  which  have  a 
bearing  on  the  industrial  and  commercial  life  of  its  people.  We 
now  enter  upon  the  study  of  the  productive  industries  of  our 
country,  in  considering  which  we  shall  lay  especial  emphasis 
on  the  reasons  for  things. 

The  man  who  succeeds  in  business  must  first  of  all  be  a 
man  who  can  think,  reason,and  plan.  A  man  who  knows  mere- 
ly the  routine  of  a  grocery  or  hardware  store,  who  knows  how 
to  keep  a  set  of  books,  arrange  a  stock  of  goods,  or  make  out 
and  send  a  bill  to  a  customer,  has  acquired  useful  information, 
which  will  enable  him  to  make  perhaps  $40.00  a  month.  But 
if  this  is  all  he  possesses  as  an  equipment  for  business,  he  can- 
not hope  to  win  the  highest  success.  Success  in  business  means 
much  more  than  a  mere  knowledge  of  routine.  It  implies, 
above  everything  else,  the  power  to  think  independently  in  one's 
chosen  field,  the  ability  to  answer  such  questions  as  these:  If 
I  am  a  butcher  in  a  small  town  in  Pennsylvania,  shall  I  accept 
an  agency  from  Armour  and  Company,  or  shall  I  depend  upon 
the  surrounding  country  to  furnish  me  with  my  supplies?  If 
I  am  a  miller  in  Ohio,  shall  I  introduce  the  roller  process  or 
stick  to  the  old  method?  or  shall  I  change  from  steam  to  gas  for 
my  power  plant?  If  I  have  men  working  for  me,  shall  I  pay 
them  just  the  current  rate  of  wages  and  work  them  as  many 
hours  as  they  will  work,  or  will  it  be  economy  for  me  to 
shorten  their  hours?  If  I  am  a  grocer,  shall  I  deal  in  staples 
only,  or  put  in  a  line  of  fancy  goods?     If  I  am  a  dry  goods 

(54) 


AM'ERICA.N     INDUSTRIES  55 

dealer,  shall  I  take  an  agency  for  a  catalogue  house  or  fight  the 
catalogue  house  with  my  small  capital?  These  questions  and 
others  like  them  are  constantly  arising  in  every  business  man's 
experience.  The  men  who  succeed  in  business  are  the  men 
who  answer  such  questions  correctly,  and  they  are  also  the  men 
who  are  able  to  reason  and  discriminate. 

(59)  Reasoning  Necess&ry  io  Success  in  Business 

Now  reasoning  is,  as  its  name  implies,  the  act  or  process 
of  finding  out  the  reasons  for  things.  The  reasoner  constantly 
asks  himself,  Why  is  this  fact  as  it  is  instead  of  some  other 
way?  His  punctuation  is  all  question  marks.  He  may 
care  very  little  about  the  way  to  paint  an  iron  bridge.  He  may 
never  have  a  bridge  to  piaint;  but  he  ought  to  be  interested  to 
know  why  an  iron  bridge  sl:ould  be  painted  at  all,  because  if  he 
and  his  fellow  citizens  are  not  informed,  the  neglect  of  some 
county  commissioner  may  cost  the  tax  payers  a  new  bridge. 
Possibly  he  cares  very  little  how  to  make  the  contracts  for 
stone  and  gravel  for  the  country  road;  but  he  should  understand 
why  a  macadamized  road  is  needed  and  why  any  but  the  best 
road  is  a  waste  of  public  money.  How  to  do  it  is  a  lesson  which 
must  be  learned  differently  in  every  business  establishment  and 
which,  if  the  learner  is  alert,  he  is  not  long  in  mastering.  Why 
it  should  be  done  is  a  lesson  which  few  ever  learn  and  whose 
mastery  by  those  who  do  learn  it,  and  who  by  learning  it  achieve 
success,  is  a  work  of  years  of  patient  study. 

This  digression  has  been  necessary  in  order  to  explain  the 
plan  of  presentation  which  has  been  followed  in  our  study  of 
economic  geography  thus  far  and  which  will  be  followed  much 
more  closely  in  the  succeeding  pages.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  we  studied  the  reasons  for  the  advantage  of  the  new  world 
over  the  old,  and  of  the  temperate  zone  over  the  torrid  zone; 
the  reasons  for  the  existence  of  water  power  along  the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  and  for  the  formation  of  the  prairies;  the  reasons  for 
thev floods  of  the  Mississippi,  and  for  the  heavy  rains  of  the 
northwest  coast.  We  inquired  into  these  things,  not  merely 
because  they  are  interesting  matters  to  look  into,  but  because 
the  study  of  such  questions  develops  in  the  student  the  power 


S6  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

to  think.  So  as  we  proceed  with  the  study  of  our  great  indus" 
tries  we  shall  not  take  upi  every  raw  material  nor  every  form 
of  manufacturing  industry,  but  in  those  we  do  discuss,  the  ob- 
ject will  be  to  show  in  as  great  detail  as  space  permits  the 
reason  for  the  facts  and  processes  passed  in  review,  so  that, 
when  the  student  has  traversed  the  limited  field  set  before  him, 
he  will  be  able  to  think  independently  upon  the  different  ques- 
tions as  they  arise. 

(60)  General  Outline  of  the  Subject 

We  shall  discuss,  first,  a  few  of  the  important  raw  materials, 
their  nature,  location  and  manner  of  occurrence,  and  something 
of  the  methods  and  processes  employed  in  their  abstraction. 
We  shall  then  take  up  the  manner  in  which  these  raw  materials 
are  provided  for  the  mills  and  factories  that  use  them.  Third, 
we  shall  discuss  the  considerations  that  influence  the  location  of 
these  factories  and  some  of  the  principles  of  their  organization 
and  management,  confining  ourselves  mainly  to  the  essentials 
of  good  superintendence  and  management  and  the  relations 
between  masters  and  workmen.  It  will  be  impossible  in  so  lim- 
ited a  space  to  mention  more  than  a  few  industries.  A  careful 
study  of  a  few  will,  however,  be  of  far  more  benefit  to  the  stu- 
dent than  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  many  industries. 


The  Mineral  Industry 

(61)  Age  of  Co&l 

Coal  is  undoubtedly  the  most  important  of  all  mineral  raw 
materials  of  industry.  In  this  age  of  steam-driven  machinery, 
coal  represents  power,  and  where  nearly  every  manufacturing 
process  is  conducted  on  a  large  scale  in  huge  mills  and  factories, 
cheap  coal  is  essential  to  economical  production.  At  every 
stage  of  the  economic  process  coal  is  our  servant.  It  smelts 
the  iron  out  of  which  our  agricultural,  milling,  and  transporta- 
tion machinery  is  made.  It  transports  the  grain  to  the  mill  and 
grinds  it  into  flour.     It  carries  the  flour  to  the  customer  and 


AMERIOAfN     INDUSTRIES 


57 


finally  converts  it  into  bread.  Coal  weaves  our  clothing,  saws 
and  planes  our  lumber,  fluxes  our  hard  metals  into  workable 
condition,  and  performs  for  us  almost  every  act  and  process  of 
our  modern  life.  "This  has  been  called  the  iron  age,  and  it  is 
true  that  by  its  strength,  endurance,  and  wide  range  of  qual- 
ities, iron  is  the  material  of  novelties  and  is  fitted  to  be  th2 
fulcrum  and  lever  of  works,  while  steam  is  the  motive  power. 
But  coal  alone  can  produce  in  sufficient  abundance  either  iron 
or  steam;  coal,  therefore,  commands  this  age— the  age  of  coal 
Indeed,  coal  stands  not  merely  beside  but  entirely  above  all 
other  commodities.  It  is  the  material  energy  of  the  country; 
the  universal  aid;  a  factor  in  everything  we  do.  With  it,  almost 
any  feat  is  possible;  without  it,  we  are  thrown  back  mto  the  la- 
borious poverty  of  early  times." 

(62)  Nature  and  Loca-tioa  of  Coa.1 

We  shall  now  examine  the  nature,  location  and  properties 
of  coal.  If  you  pick  up  a  dead  leaf  and  rub  it  between  your 
fingers,  a  black  stain  remains.  That  stain  is  the  substance  from 
whtch  coal  is  made.  Take  a  piece  of  soft  coal  and  carefully  sep- 
arate the  layers,  and  you  will  probably  see  upon  the  surface  of 
the  coal  impressions  of  leaves  and  ferns.  The  connection  is 
plain  between  the  leaf  in  the  forest  and  the  leaf  that  mdlions  of 
years  ago  left  its  mark  upon  the  coal.  The  coal  beds  are  the 
result  of  vast  accumulations  of  vegetable  deposits,  chiefly  ferns 
and  club  mosses,  which  in  the  geological  period  called  the  car- 
boniferous or  coal  age  grew  to  vast  size,  and  formed  immense 
forests  over  what  is  now  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  btates 
and  in  manv  other  parts  of  the  world.  These  forests  of  ferns 
and  mosses;  in  the  process  of  time,  formed  great  deposits  of 
vegetable  matter,  oftentimes  many  feet  thick,  spread  out  in  huge 
layers  over  the  face  of  the  land;  and  on  the  surface  of  these  de- 
posits there  grew  the  forests  which  constantly  increased  them. 
It  is  believed  that  at  that  time  the  land  was  comparatively  low, 
so  that  a  slight  depression  of  the  earth's  surface  would  sub- 
merge large  areas  beneath  the  water.  These  depressions  of  the 
surface  frequently  occurred  during  the  carboniferous  age— a 
fact  which  has  been  variously  explained  but  which  there  is  no 


58  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

need  for  us  to  discuss  here — and  at  every  submergence  the 
water  would  flow  over  the  layers  of  vegetable  matter.  The 
rivers  of  that  time,  just  as  streams  do  to-day,  carried  down  large 
quantities  of  clay  and  sand  together  with  decayed  animal  and 
vegetable  matter;  and  great  numbers  of  little  animals,  resem- 
bling the  coral  insects,  contributed  their  bony  framework  to 
form  beds  of  material  very  rich  in  lime. 

(63)  Properties  of  Coal 

After  a  time,  the  accumulation  of  these  materials  again 
raised  the  surface  of  the  land  above  the  water,  and  upon  that 
surface  a  new  forest  grew  up,  to  be  in  its  turn — and  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  forest  preceding  it — carried  down  beneath  the 
water.  In  this  way,  a  great  many  layers  of  vegetable  matter 
(separated  by  thick  masses  of  shale,  sandstone,  limestone  and 
clay),  were  laid  down.  In  time  these  materials  became  so  firmly 
pressed  together  by  the  enormous  weight  of  the  mass  above 
them  that  they  took  on  the  stone-like  form  and  structure  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  particularly  in  hard  coal.  This  coal  con- 
sists mainly  of  carbon,  the  black  material  noticed  on  the  leaf 
and  which  is  very  combustible.  It  also  contains  a  considerable 
quantity  of  gas,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  formed  from 
the  small  resinous  cones  that  dropped  from  the  club  mosses  of 
the  coal  age,  the  ancestors  of  our  pine  trees.  Besides  gas  and 
carbon,  coal  contains  ash,  some  water  and  certain  chemical  sub- 
stances, such  as  phosphorus  and  sulphur. 

(64j  Coa.!  Divisions  of  the  United  SteLtes 

Having  found  what  coal  is  and  how  it  is  made,  we  are  pre- 
pared to  understand  the  differences  between  the  kinds  of  coal 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States  and  how  these  dif- 
ferences originated.  Upon  the  opposite  page  appears  a  map 
from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  coal  deposits  of  tlie  United 
States  occur  in  three  principal  divisions,  besides  numerous 
smaller  ones.  The  first  division  is  found  in  northeastern  Penn- 
sylvania; the  second  includes  most  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau 
from  Pennsylvania  to  Alabama,  and  the  third  is  found  in  tho 
central  and  western  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 


6o  AMERIOAiN     INDUSTRIES 

The  question  at  once  arises:  Wliat  is  the  reason  for  this  di- 
vision between  the  coal  regions?  We  have  seen  that  the  coal 
measures  were  laid  down  in  large  continuous  layers  over  the 
eastern  part  of  the  United  States.  How,  then,  did  this  separa- 
tion occur?  The  answer  to  this  question  involves  an  explana- 
tion of  certain  influences  which  have  been  and  still  are  at  work 
on  the  earth's  surface. 

(65)  SeparaLtion  of  the  Coal  Fields 

At  some  period  after  the  coal  measures  had  been  formed, 
the  earth's  surface  was  thrown  up  or  wrinkled  in  many  places. 
These  disturbances  affected  not  only  the  mountain  chains  of 
the  Appalachian  region,  but  also  the  newer  formations.  The 
coal  strata  following  the  curve  of  the  surface  were,  therefore, 
disturbed  and  uplifted  in  the  same  manner.  Down  the  uplands 
and  mountains  thus  formed,  the  streams  began  to  flow,  and  over 
the  northern  part  of  the  region  passed  the  glacier  of  the  Ice 
Age.  In  this  way,  by  the  slow  wear  of  the  running  water,  and 
by  the  grinding  and  cutting  of  the  ice,  large  areas  of  the  coal 
measures  were  scooped  out  and  washed  down  the  streams,  leav- 
ing the  formations  as  we  find  them  to-day. 

(66)  Qualities  of  Coal 

Differences  in  the  quality  of  different  coals  next  concern  us. 
Most  people  are  familiar  with  the  general  distinction  between 
the  hard  anthracite  coal  of  eastern  Pennsylvania  and  the  softer' 
bituminous  coal  of  other  parts  of  the  country,  which  now  find 
their  way  into  the  eastern  part  of  New  England.  We  all  know 
that  hard  coal  is  more  valuable  than  soft  coal,  and  that  som  > 
soft  coals  are  more  valuable  than  others.  For  example,  hard 
coal  sells  in  Chicago  for  $6.50  per  ton,  while  a  ton  of  Pennsyl- 
vania soft  coal  sells  for  $3.75,  and  a  ton  of  Illinois  coal  for  $2.00. 

The  explanation  of  the  high  price  of  anthracite  coal  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  hard,  and  burns  without  smoke  and  with  a 
steady  f^ame.  These  qualities  make  it  the  ideal  fuel  for  do- 
mestic purposes.  As  for  steam  coal,  the  ordinary  explanation 
is  that  the  higher  priced  coals  will  make  more  steam. 


AMERIC.^iK    INDUSTRIES  6i 

But  are  these  explanations  sufficient?  Is  it  enough  to  take 
merely  the  appearance  of  a  thing  and  then  claim  to  understand 
its  meaning?  Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  what  the  produc- 
tion of  heat  involves,  and  we  may  then  understand  not  only  the 
reasons  for  differences  between  the  kinds  of  coal,  but  also  gain 
some  knowledge  of  their  heat  producing  value. 

(67)  Combustion  of  Coal 

Heat  is  the  result  of  the  combination  of  the  carbon  and  gas 
in  the  coal  (hydrogen)  with  another  gas  found  in  the  air  (oxy- 
gen). The  general  rule  in  regard  to  the  heat  producing  value 
of  coal  is:  That  coal  is  of  most  value  whose  burning  produces  the 
largest  combination  of  its  elements  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air. 
Carbon  combines  with  twice  its  own  weight  of  oxygen,  and  hy- 
drogen with  eight  times  its  own  w^eight  of  oxygen.  It  woulo 
seem,  then,  that  coals  rich  in  hydrogen — or  gas,  as  we  know  it, 
would  be  more  valuable;  but  we  find  the  contrary  to  be  the  case. 
The  coals  of  central  Pennsylvania  at  the  eastern  extremity  of 
the  middle  coal  fields  average  only  i8%  of  gaseous  matter,  as 
compared  with  40%  for  some  of  the  western  fields,  and  yet  these 
same  western  coals  command  in  the  Chicago  market  little  more 
than  half  the  price  of  Pennsylvania  coal.  The  reason  for  this 
apparent  contradiction  is  that  unless  the  precise  quantity  of  air 
needed  for  combination  with  the  combustible  materials  in  the 
coal  is  supplied  to  the  fuel  during  the  process  of  combustion, 
these  combustibles  are  released  (and  fly  upi  the  chimney)  with- 
out producing  any  heat.  To  supply  the  necessary  amount  of 
oxygen  is  very  difficult  in  burning  most  soft  coals,  because, 
when  thrown  upon  a  fire,  they  almost  immediately  form  a  cake, 
or  crust  over  the  top,  which  interferes  with  the  free  passage  of 
air;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  large  furnaces  have  tall  chim- 
neys, and  that  in  the  locomotive  the  exhaust  steam  is  dis- 
charged violently  into  the  smoke  stack  to  induce  a  stronger 
current. 

We  can  now  see  why  a  large  percentage  of  gas  in  coal  is 
a  disadvantage,  for  even  this  hydrogen  gas  combines  with  eight 
times  its  weight  of  oxygen,  while  carbon  combines  with  only 
twice  its  weight  of  oxygen.     In  view  of  the  difficulty  of  supply- 


62  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

ing  sufficient  air  to  insure  a  good  fire  at  all  times,  the  problem 
becomes  very  much  more  serious  in  case  of  gaseous  coals. 
That  is  to  say,  the  proportion  of  heat  from  such  coals  is  smaller 
than  from  those  in  which  the  carbon  element  predominates. 

(68     Anthracite  Coal 

It  is  now  possible  to  classify  the  coals  of  the  United  States 
according  to  definite  standards  of  estimate,  and  to  show  the 
reason  for  the  adoption  of  these  standards.  The  most  valuable 
coal  is  the  anthracite  of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  It  contains 
about  90%  of  fixed  carbon;  is  a  very  hard  coal,  which  makes  it 
clean  and  easy  to  handle;  it  does  not  lose  its  shape  in  the  fire 
nor  does  it  cake,  or  clog  the  grate  bars,  and  the  maintenance 
of  an  air  supply  sufficient  for  practically  perfect  combustion  is 
possible.  For  the  same  reasons,  and  this  fact  increases  the  de- 
sirability of  anthracite  coal,  especially  for  domestic  purposes,  it 
is  practically  a  smokeless  fuel.  Smoke  is  unconsumed  vapor, 
and  almost  all  the  combustible  material  in  anthracite  coal  is 
consumed.  These  facts  explain  the  importance  of  the  anthra- 
cite coal  industry  of  eastern  Pennsylvania,  which  in  1900  pro- 
duced 55,000,000  tons,  some  of  which  was  sent  overland  as  far 
west  as  Omaha  and  Kansas  City,  and  sold  in  places  at  a  price 
of  $9.00  a  ton. 

(69)  Semi-Bituminous  Co&I 

Passing  into  central  Pennsylvania  we  find  what  is  known  as 
the  semi-bituminous  coal  region,  which  also  extends  down  into 
West  Virginia.  This  coal  contains  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  of 
volatile  matter  and  from  75  to  80  per  cent,  of  fixed  carbon. 
Although  it  is  a  soft  coal,  it  breaks  easily  into  slack  and  has  a 
tendency  to  cake  and  crust  in  the  fire.  Still,  its  high  percent- 
age of  fixed  carbon  and  the  resulting  large  amount  of  heat  pro- 
duced causes  it  to  sell  for  a  good  price — $3.75  per  ton  in  the 
Chicago  market. 

(70)  Bituminous  Coal 

Still  farther  west,  we  come  into  the  Pittsburg  district,  which 
is  estimated  to  contain  in  one  seam  alone,  called  the  Pittsburg 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES  63 

or  nine-foot  seam,  11,000,000,000  tons  still  unmined.  This 
Pittsburg  coal  is  hard  and  firm,  for  soft  coal,  and  is  known  as 
bituminous.  It  runs  about  65  per  cent,  volatile  matter.  It  is 
peculiarly  valuable  for  making  illuminating  gas,  and  on  this  ac- 
count, as  well  as  because  of  its  structure  it  commands  about  the 
same  price  as  the  semi-bituminous  coal,  viz.,  $3.50  to  $3.75  per 
ton  in  Chicago.  The  central  coal  field  is  made  up  of  bitumin- 
ous and  semi-bituminous  coals  of  the  same  general  character 
as  those  already  described.  It  is  from  this  region  that  most  of 
the  long  distance  soft  coal  shipments  are  made. 

The  coal  of  the  western  fields  is  generally  much  inferior 
to  that  of  the  eastern  and  middle  fields.  It  is  high  in  volatile 
matter  and  low  in  carbon,  and  its  burning  gives  rise  to  an  ob- 
jectionable amount  of  smoke,  soot  and  cinders.  For  these  rea- 
sons it  is  an  inferior  steam  coal  and  unfit  for  domestic  use.  It 
commands  an  average  price  of  $2.15  to  $2.25  per  ton  in  the  Chi- 
cago market. 


(71)  Lignite,  or  Brown  Coa.! 

Passing  farther  west,  we  leave  the  region  of  the  true  coals 
and  enter  the  field  of  lignite,  or  brown  coal.  In  order  to  un- 
derstand the  real  nature  of  this  coal,  it  will  be  well  to  explain 
the  reason  for  the  differences  already  noticed  between  the  coal 
of  different  localities.  Coal  is  vegetable  matter  compressed  and 
solidified  and  acted  upon  by  heat.  The  greater  this  heat  and 
pressure,  the  harder  will  be  the  coal  and  the  higher  will  be  its 
percentage  of  fixecl  carbon.  In  other  words,  coal  which  has 
had  this  advantage  in  its  formation  will  be  the  more  valuable 
for  all  purposes.  We  find  that  the  disturbances  that  the  earth's 
crust  has  undergo'ne  are  less  considerable  the  farther  west  we 
go  and  also  that  the  age  of  the  continent  decreases.  So  that, 
since  the  heat  and  pressure  have  been  greatest  in  those  parts 
of  the  United  States  which  are  oldest  and  which  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  greatest  geological  disturbances,  we  have  an  ex- 
planation of  the  decreasing  value  of  coal  as  we  approach  the 
Mississippi  River. 
6 


64  AMERIO.'VN     INDUSTRIES 

(72)  Properties  of  Lignite 

In  the  lignite  of  the  Western  states,  we  approach  the  sub- 
stance of  which  coal  was  made.  It  still  contains  much  of  the 
woody  fibre  that  once  formed  the  substance  of  all  coal,  and 
sometimes  trunks  of  trees  but  partially  transformed  into  coal 
are  found  imbedded  in  the  lignite  strata.  Its  imperfect  char- 
acter is  seen  also  in  the  high  percentage  of  moisture  that  it  con- 
tains, amounting  in  the  case  of  the  North  Dakota  coal  to  al- 
most one-third  of  its  weight,  vVhile  true  coal  has  at  most  only 
5  or  6  per  cent,  of  moisture;  and  also  in  the  high  percentage 
(40  to  50)  of  volatile,  or  gaseous  matter,  and  the  relatively 
small  amount  of  fixed  carbon.  From  what  has  been  said,  it 
will  be  understood  why  lignite  coal  is  of  greatly  inferior  quality, 
and  why  the  industrial  development  of  those  sections  where  it 
is  the  only  fuel  is  so  slow.  On  the  northwest  coast,  however, 
both  bituminous  and  anthracite  coal  of  excellent  quality  are 
found,  the  geological  disturbances  of  this  region  having  sufficed 
in  some  places  to  form  true  coal  by  heat  and  pressure. 


(73)  Peatt  and  its  CKek.racteristics 

In  concluding  the  discussion  of  the  coal  question,  it  should 
be  mentioned  that  in  some  parts  of  the  United  States  there  are 
found  large  deposits  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  called  peat, 
mainly  consisting  of  grasses  and  other  plants  that  occur  in 
swamps  and  marshes.  This  material,  when  cut  into  blocks  and 
dried,  can  be  burned  and  is  largely  used  as  fuel  in  Ireland.  Peat 
is  the  original  form  of  coal,  and  in  the  large  peat  bogs  of  the 
southern  Atlantic  coast  we  see  the  first  step  in  the  long  devel- 
opment which  has  terminated  in  anthracite  coal,  viz. :  Peat,  lig- 
nite, bituminous  coal,  semi-bituminous  coal,  anthracite  coal — 
each  step  marked  by  increasing  hardness,  increased  percentage 
of  fixed  carbon  and  decreased  volatile  matter,  decreased  per- 
centage of  water,  and  increasing  value. 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES  0$ 

The  following  table  presents  the  production  of  coal  in  1899 
by  states  and  territories,  in  tons  of  2240  pounds: 

Anthracite. 

Pennsylvania 53.944,647 

Colorado  and  New  Mexico  85,889 

Total   54.030,536 

Middle  States:  Bituminous. 

Maryland, 4,292,318 

Ohio   14,732,384 

Pennsylvania    66,205,513 

West  Virginia 17,190,174 

Total   102,420,389 

Western  States: 

Colorado    4,213,027 

Illinois    21,820,553 

Indiana 5,362,967 

Iowa  4,622,749 

Kansas  3439.524 

Michigan 557.775 

Missouri    2,701,620 

Montana  1,336,117 

North  Dakota  88,222 

Wyoming   3,426,243 

Total    47^568,797 

Pacific  States: 

California    143.725 

Oregon   77.579 

Utah 701,829 

Washington 1,812,394 

Total   2,735,527 

Southern  States: 

Alabama   6,779,836 

Arkansas   753.173 

Georgia 208,135 


66  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

Indian  Territory  i>372,703 

Kentucky 4,1 13,620 

New  Mexico 903707 

North  Carolina  24,014 

Tennessee 2,973,803 

Texas   789,136 

Virginia   1,880,170 

Total 19,798,297 

It  will  be  observed  on  studying  this  table  that  the  Middle 
States  surpass  all  other  parts  of  the  country  in  the  amount  of 
coal  produced.  This  is  due,  as  has  been  stated,  to  the  better 
quality  of  their  coal  and  to  their  greater  density  of  population 
and  greater  manufacturing  development.  The  states  of  the 
central  west  produce  large  amounts  of  coal,  but  most  of  it  is 
consumed  near  the  mines,  and  only  a  small  portion  is  shipped 
to  any  great  distance  from  the  place  of  production.  The  coal 
of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  contrary,  both  anthracite  and  bitumin- 
ous, is  shipped  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior;  and  even  beyond 
that  point  into  the  western  mountains.  Finally,  the  inferior 
quality  of  the  far  western  lignite  coal  is  evident  from  the  rela- 
tively small  amount  of  its  production.  The  production  of  coal 
in  any  state  measures  the  industrial  development  of  that  state, 
and  the  backward  condition  of  the  far  west  can  be  presented  in 
no  better  way  than  by  showing  how  small  is  the  yield  of  its  coal 
mines. 


1 


OF  THF 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Non-Metallic  Minerals 


(74)  Formatioiv 

The  manner  of  formation  of  the  non-metallic  minerals  is  in 
general  the  same  as  that  of  the  formation  of  coal,  viz.:  (i)  The 
deposit  of  successive  layers  of  earth  and  rock  material,  the 
building  up  of  banks  from  the  shells  and  skeletons  of  minute 
animals  like  the  coral  insect,  and  the  subjection  of  these  depos- 
its to  heavy  pressure  and  sometimes  to  great  heat,  which  often 
changes  their  chemical  composition  and  compacts  them  into 
more  or  less  solid  masses. 

(2)  The  washing  out  or  distilling  of  solid  materials  or  ac- 
cumulations of  minerals,  which  are  deposited  in  large  bodies 
either  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  or  beneath  its  crust. 


(75)  Representatives  and  TKeir  LocsLtions 

The  principal  representatives  of  this  group  are  stones  of 
various  kinds, —  clay,  salt,  soda,  sand,  cement,  mica,  asphalt, 
iron  pyrites,  sulphur,  and  petroleum.  Most  of  these  substances 
are  well  distributed  throughout  the  United  States  and  do  not, 
therefore,  require  any  particular  description.  Certain  materials 
are,  however,  more  concentrated.  Asphalt  and  bituminous  rock, 
which  are  chiefly  used  for  street  paving,  are  found  in  California, 
Utah,  Colorado,  Kentucky,  and  Texas.  There  are  large  de- 
posits of  soda  in  the  alkaU  deserts  of  the  far  West.  In  three 
localities  (two  in  California  and  the  third  in  Oregon),  there  are 
'deposits  of  natural  soda  estimated  to  contain  136.2  million  tons. 
Large  deposits  of  sulphur  are  known  to  exist  in  Wyoming, 
California  and  Arizona.  Most  of  the  cheaper  materials  which 
are  found  in  the  Western  states  are  at  present  unavailable  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  transportation  facilities. 

(76)  Petroleum 

The  most  important  member  of  this  group  is  petroleum. 

(69) 


70  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

This  substance  is  found  near  coal  deposits  and  is  supposed  to 
have  been  formed  from  the  bodies  of  animals  enclosed  in  the 
coal  measures.  The  domestic  output  of  petroleum  in  1900  was 
2,300,000,000  gallons. 

Until  recently,  practically  the  entire  yield  of  petroleum 
came  from  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  West  Virginia  has,  how- 
ever, been  rapidly  increasing  her  yield,  and  within  the  last  two 
years  California  and  Texas  'have  begun  to  contribute  largely  to 
the  supply;  but  the  oil  produced  in  these  states  is  of  inferior 
quality  and  fit  for  fuel  purpose  only.  There  are  oil  fields  in 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  also,  though  these  states  do  not  yet 
produce  on  a  large  scale. 


Metallic  Minerals 

(77)  Iron 

Let  us  now  take  up  the  study  of  the  metallic  minerals.  Of 
these,  iron  is  the  most  important  and  will  be  discussed  more  in 
detail,  while  the  others,  since  they  are  substantially  the  same  as 
iron  in  the  manner  of  their  formation,  will  be  more  briefly  de- 
scribed and  located.  As  has  been  indicated  in  the  study  of  coal, 
iron  is  important  because  out  of  it  are  manufactured  the  ma- 
chinery of  modern  civilization.  In  the  material  and  industrial 
sense,  this  age  is  pre-eminent,  and  distinguished  above  all  other 
ages  because  of  the  extent  to  w'hich  it, has  supplemented  and 
supplanted  the  strength  of  human  and  animal  muscles  by  the 
powers  of  nature,  which  are  infinitely  more  potent. 

(78)  Nectural  Forces 

The  universe  about  us  is  a  vast  reservoir  of  power.  Power 
almost  unlimited  is  latent  in  the  coal  measures  which  contrib- 
ute each  year  to  the  service  of  man  only  the  minutest  fraction 
of  their  stored-up  energy.  Power  is  more  visibly  seen  in  the 
rush  of  the  streams  and  in  the  heaving  tides.  The  sun  is  every 
day  pouring  great  cataracts  of  power  upon  the  earth.  Com- 
pared with  the  power  and  force  of  nature,  the  strength  of  men 


n 

> 


Of 


^^^VERsiTY 


itORNlA, 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 


73 


and  animals  disappears.  And  just  in  proportion  as  men  have 
succeeded  in  getting  the  mastery  of  natural  forces,  of  subduing 
these  to  their  own  purposes,  and  turning  them  to  useful  ac- 
count, has  material  civilization  developed.  This  task  of  subju- 
gation is,  however,  far  from  accomplished.  Only  a  small  frac- 
tion of  the  power  available  in  nature  is  at  man's  disposal,  but 
even  that  small  amount  is  sufficient  to  lift  from  his  shoulders 
much  of  the  burden  of  hard  toil,  and  to  increase  the  efficiency 
of  his  efforts  a  hundred  fold. 

It  requires  but  brief  reflection  for  the  student  to  realize  how 
prodigious  is  the  contribution  of  natural  forces  to  our  daily  life 
and  comfort.  Our  food,  our  clothing,  our  houses  and  all  that 
they  contain,  our  travel,  our  recreation  and  our  business,  are 
all  conditioned  by  and  dependent  upon  the  use  of  power.  And 
it  is  equally  easy  to  undertand  how  all  this  large  use  of  power 
is  made  possible  by  the  use  of  iron,  and  of  steel,  which  is  made 
of  iron.  Boilers,  rails,  engines,  cars,  machinery  for  spinning, 
weaving,  planting,  reaping,  harvesting,  sawing,  planing,  turn- 
ing, melting,  moulding,  forging — in  a  word,  for  digging  out, 
cutting  down,  carrying  and  transforming  the  innumerable  com- 
modities which  we  employ  in  our  living  and  working.  All  the 
mechanical  equipment  of  modern  civilization  is  made  \Vholly  or 
in  part  from  iron  and  steel. 

The  United  States  has  a  peculiar  advantage  over  all  her 
competitors  for  the  world's  trade,  in  that  she  possesses  larger 
deposits  of  purer  iron  than  any  rival  can  command.  The  course 
of  the  iron  market  is  the  barometer  of  prosperity,  because  a  de- 
mand for  anything  else  implies  a  demand  for  iron,  and  no 
sooner  do  men  have  more  money  to  spend  than  this  increased 
spending  power  is  reflected  in  the  demand  for  iron  to  make  the 
goods  that  are  demanded. 


(79)  Iron  Formation  and  Occurrence 

Iron  is  supposed,  like  other  metals,  to  occur  throughout 
the  molten  mass  that  is  believed  to  make  up  the  substance  of 
the  earth  with  the  exception  of  a  comparatively  thin  crust  upon 
the  outside  of  this  molten  center,  and  in  that  crust  these  me- 
tallic elements  are  found  also.     This  iron,  scattered  throughout 


74  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

the  rocks  of  the  earth's  crust,  must  be  gathered  into  masses 
before  it  can  be  economically  mined  and  worked.  The  collec- 
tion of  iron  into  workable  form  is  accomplished  something  as 
follows :  From  one  cause  or  another,  either  by  the  action  of  the 
weather,  or  by  the  contraction  of  the  earth's  surface  in  cooling, 
or  by  the  slipping  of  one  layer  of  rock  upon  another,  fissures 
or  crevices  are  formed  in  the  surface.  Into  these  fissures  wa- 
ter penetrates  and  descends  to  lower  levels.  As  this  water  pen- 
etrates toward  the  molten  interior  of  the  earth,  it  becomes 
heated,  and  this  heated  water  takes  into  solution  a  part  of  the 
metallic  contents  of  the  rocks  through  which  it  passes.  These 
downward  movements  of  water  are  often  turned  aside  by  cross 
fissures  from  which  they  may  again  return  to  the  surface. 
Passing  upward,  the  heated  water,  richly  charged  with  minerals, 
gradually  cools,  and  in  cooling  contracts.  It  is,  therefore,  un- 
able to  hold  so  much  mineral  matter  in  solution,  and  so  de- 
posits the  minerals  along  the  sides  of  the  fissures  in  the  order 
of  their  weight,  the  heaviest  being  deposited  first,  and  the  light- 
est being  last  released  by  the  cooling  of  the  water.  Sometimes 
it  happens  that  the  same  crevice  contains  a  number  of  minerals  , 

and  metals.  Again  only  one  or  two  may  be  found.  Iron  and 
limestone,  being  of  practically  the  same  weight,  are  usually 
found  together.  ] 

A  crack  in  the  earth's  crust,  filled  either  wholly  or  in  part 
with  minerals  or  metals,  is  called  a  vein.  Sometimes  these  cav- 
ities are  filled  with'  iron  by  the  disintegration  of  the  surrounding 
rocks  and  the  washing  away  of  all  but  the  iron  which  sinks  and  i 

fills  the  cavities.     Sometimes,  again,  the  water  which  holds  the 
iron  in  solution  is  evaporated,  and  in  many  cases  iron  ores  have 
been  formed  by  the  action  of  heat,  pressure  and  moisture,  in  de- 
composing the  rocks  in  which  they  occur,  without  the  previous  j 
formation  of  fissures,  and  by  the  subsequent  arrangement  of  the                              ) 
older  elements  in  bands.                                                                                               t 


If 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES  ff 

These  metallic  elements  are  seldom  found  in  a  pure  state 
but  are  usually  met  with  in  various  combinations.  Observe  the 
radical  difference  between  a  seam  of  coal  and  a  vein  of  metal. 
The  first  is  a  broad  horizontal  layer  of  mineral  all  ready  for  use; 
the  second  follows  an  irregular  vertical  crack,  the  contents  of 
which  must  be  submitted  to  a  process  of  melting  in  order  to 
extract  any  particular  element.  Iron  ore,  for  example,  con- 
tains oxygen  in  combination  with  sulphur,  phosphorus,  clay, 
iron  stone,  carbonic  acid,  etc.,  and  always  a  percentage  of  water, 
and  in  the  production  of  iron  these  impurities  must  be  broken 
down  by  the  action  of  heat  and  separated  from  the  useful  metal. 


(80)  Divisions  of  Ore 

A  combination  of  mineral  elements  in  which  any  one  is 
present  in  large  proportions  is  called  an  ore.  These  ores  are, 
generally  speaking,  divided  into  three  classes  whose  names  are 
often  seen  in  popular  discussions  of  the  subject,  but  of  whose 
real  meaning  few  people  have  any  notion.  These  are  (i)  mag- 
netites or  magnetic  ores,  that  is,  ores  that  have  the  magnetic 
quality;  (2)  hematites,  or  ores  having  a  large  percentage  of 
water;  and  (3)  carbonates,  ores  having  a  high  percentage  of 
carbonic  acid.  The  most  valuable  ores,  that  is,  those  having 
the  highest  percentage  of  iron  in  them,  are  the  magnetites  and 
hematites.     The  carbonate  ores  are  usually  of  inferior  quality. 

As  might  be  inferred  from  the  manner  of  their  deposit,  iron 
ores  (and  other  metallic  ores  also)  are  always  found  in  the  older 
rocks  over  which  have  been  laid  the  newer  formations.  There 
are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  but  it  holds  generally  true.  These 
old  rocks  are  found  in  the  United  States  in  the  Appalachian  and 
Allegheny  regions,  in  the  Ozark  Highlands,  around  the  head  of 
Lake  Superior,  and  at  different  places  throughout  the  district 
of  the  Great  Plains,  the  Cordilleran  Plateau  and  the  Pacific 
coast.  By  examining  the  map  of  the  iron  region  of  the  United 
States,  it  can  be  seen  how  closely  the  occurrence  of  iron  ores 
corresponds  to  the  location  of  the  older  rock  formations.  For 
reasons  that  will  be  given  in  another  place,  the  iron  deposits  at 
the  head  of  Lake  Superior  are  at  present  the  most  important. 


AMERICAN     IxNDUSTRIES 


79 


Table  showing  production  of  pig  iron  in  various  states  dur- 
ing the  calendar  year  1899. 


State 


State 


Tons 


Georgia   17,855 

Alabama 1,083,905 

Ohio 2,378,212 

Illinois   1,442,012 

Wisconsin 203,175 

Colorado  138,880 


United  States 


13,620.703 


Tons 
(2240  lbs.) 
New  York        "j 

and  V  .  .        391.944 

New  Jersey     j 

Pennsylvania   6,558,878 

Maryland    234,477 

Virginia 365,491 

West  Virginia   ...         187,858 

Kentucky   119,019 

Tennessee   346,166 

A  study  of  the  foregoing  table  shows  the  great  superiority 
of  Pennsylvania  in  the  production  of  pig  iron,  and  also  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  total  product  is  obtained  from  Lake  Su- 
perior ores,  as  in  nearly  all  the  pig  iron  produced  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, Ohio,  Illinois,  and  West  Virginia  is  derived  from  the  Supe- 
rior mines.  Observe  also  how  small  an  amount  of  pig  iron  is 
produced  from  the  seats  in  which  the  iron  ore  is  found.  Wis- 
consin and  Minnesota,  for  example,  produce  less  than  200,000 
tons  of  pig  iron.  The  importance  of  nearness  to  market,  and 
the  relative  difficulty  of  transporting  coke  is  illustrated  by  the 
small  production  of  these  upper  lake  states. 


Other  Metals 


(81)  Names  and  Uses 

Next  to  iron,  the  most  important  metals  produced  in  the 
United  States  are  lead,  zinc,  and  copper.  These  furnish  mater- 
ials for  a  variety  of  manufacturing  industries. 

Lead  forms  the  basis  of  the  manufacture  of  paint.  Peroxide 
of  lead,  also  called  litharge,  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  flint 
glass,  and  in  the  glazing  of  pottery.     It  is  the  raw  material  of 


So  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

the  plumbing  industry,  and  in  two  forms  of  alloy  (pewter  and 
solder)  is  used  in  many  other  manufactures. 

Zinc  is  used  to  make  brass,  and  in  copper  sheathing.  It  is 
also  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paint,  in  electrical  manufactures, 
and  in  the  galvanizing  of  iron  and  steel. 

The  applications  of  copper  are  more  numerous  than  those 
of  lead  or  zinc.  Copper  is  used  in  the  manufactures  of  wire, 
brass,  boiler  sheathing,  vitriol,  German  silver,  sulphuric  acid, 
and  to  a  very  large  extent,  in  house  construction  and  furnish- 
ing. The  most  important  application  of  copper  is  in  the  elec- 
trical industry,  to  every  branch  of  which  it  is  indispensable. 

(82)  Location  of  Lead  a.nd  Zinc 

The  location  of  these  metals  is  chiefly  in  the  West.  De- 
posits are  found  in  different  parts  of  the  Appalachian  region, 
but  not  in  sufficient  abundance  to  make  their  development  prof- 
itable. The  central  portion  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  particu- 
larly southwestern  Missouri  and  northern  Arkansas,  contains 
large  deposits  of  zinc  and  lead  ore.  The  zinc  industry  of  Mis- 
souri is  more  important  than  that  of  any  other  state,  as  is  the 
lead  industry  also.  Western  Illinois  contains  considerable 
amounts  of  lead  ore,  but  these  are  no  longer  worked  on  a  large 
scale.  These  metals  are  found  in  abundance  throughout  the 
Cordilleran  district,  but,  owing  to  the  great  distance  from  mar- 
kets and  their  cheapness,  they  are  produced  only  when  found  in 
connection  with  silver.  In  this  case,  the  zinc  and  lead  must  be 
separated  in  order  to  secure  the  more  valuable  silver,  and  the 
baser  metals  are  sold  for  what  they  will  bring,  thus  reducing  the 
cost  of  production  of  silver.  Lead  and  zinc  are  always  found  in 
combination  with  other  substances  and  must  be  separated  in 
much  the  same  way  as  iron. 

(83)  Loc&tion  of  Copper 

Copper  occurs  in  workable  amount  in  the  northern  penin- 
sula of  Michigan,  where  it  occurs  in  the  pure  state.  It  is  also 
found  throughout  the  Cordilleran  region,  where  it  is  extensively 
mined  in  Montana  and  Arizona,  but  here  it  occurs  in  the  form 
of  a  true  ore  and  must  be  smelted  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
metals. 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 


8i 


The  high  price  of  copper,  often  reaching  i6  cents  as  com- 
pared with  3  cents  for  lead,  permits  smelting  of  straight  copper 
ore  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  western  mines  and  its  subse- 
quent transportation  to  the  eastern  markets.  A  great  draw- 
back to  all  metallurgical  industry  in  the  west,  however,  is  the 
scarcity  of  fuel,  which  must  be  brought  from  great  distances. 
The  price  of  coke  at  Connellsville  is  $2.00  a  ton,  but  the  copper 
smelters  of  Arizona  are  often  compelled  to  pay  $18.00  a  ton  for 
it.  The  following  table  shows  the  production  of  these  three 
metals  in  the  districts  of  largest  output: 


Production  of  Copper,  Lead  and  Zinc  in  Various  Parts  of  the 

United  States. 

Copper. 

Name  of  District  Pounds 

Lake  Superior  region   101,410,277 

Arizona 34,796,689 

Montana 1 12,980,896 

Other  States  and  Territories 10,576,230 

Lead.  Short  Tons 

Colorado 40-576 

Idaho 58,627 

Utah  40,537 

Missouri,  Kansas,  Wisconsin 54.542 

Illinois,  Iowa,  Virginia   56,542 

Other  States  and  Territories 26,217 

Zinc*  Short  Tons 

Eastern  and  Southern  States 4,650 

Illinois  and  Indiana  22,129 

Kansas  21,464 

Missouri ,,,.,.,.,,,..,.,,,,.,,  10,371 


♦Figures  of  production  fail  to  correspond  with  location  of  deposits,  because  of  shipment 
of  ores  to  other  states  for  smelting. 


The  Rare  Metals 

(84)  Kinds  and  Loca.tioi\ 

Under  this  head  are  included  the  following:  Nickel,  mang- 
anese, used  in  the  manufacture  of  steel;  quicksilver,  used  in  the 
extraction  of  gold  and  silver;  and  carborundum  and  bauxite, 
from  which  aluminum  is  made. 

Deposits  of  nickel  are  known  to  exist  in  Nevada  and  Ore- 
gon; manganese  is  found  throughout  the  Cordilleran  region; 
quicksilver  is  produced  only  in  California,  where  it  is  abundant; 
and  carborundum  and  bauxite  are  found  in  many  places  in  the 
Appalachian  region,  especially  in  Georgia,  Tennessee,  and 
North  Carolina. 

(85)  Gold  and  Silver 

The  most  important  of  the  rare  metals  are  gold  and  silver. 
The  value  of  the  gold  produced  in  the  United  States  in  1899  was 
$710,053,000,  and  of  the  silver,  $32,859,000.  Gold  is  almost 
unique  in  that  it  is  always  found  in  a  pure  state,  the  only  other 
exceptions  being  copper,  rarely  found  pure,  and  silver. 

Gold  is  sometimes  found  as  flakes  or  small  veins  in  rock,  in 
which  case  the  rock  is  crushed  to  a  fine  powder  and  the  gold 
extracted  by  the  use  of  quicksilver.  Sometimes,  however,  an- 
other method  is  used — that  of  passing  an  electric  current 
through  a  solution  containing  cyanide  of  potassium  into  which 
the  crushed  gold  ore  is  fed,  when  the  gold  is  deposited  on  metal 
plates  by  the  action  of  the  electricity.  Gold  is  also  found  "free" 
in  the  sands  of  streams  where  it  has  been  carried  by  the  water 
after  having  been  washed  out  of  the  rocks  which  originally 
contained  it.  When  gold  occurs  in  this  form  it  is  separated  by 
subjecting  the  gravel  or  sand  to  the  action  of  running  water, 
which  washes  away  the  other  substances. 

Silver  sometimes  occurs  in  the  pure  state  in  the  rock  ma- 
trix, in  which  case  it  is  treated  with  quicksilver;  or  more  often, 
in  the  form  of  true  ore  in  combination  with  other  substances, 

(82) 


¥ 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES  85 

and  is  then  separated  by  smelting  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
metals. 

The  production  of  gold  and  silver  by  states  and  territories 
is  given  below. 

Production  of  Gold  and  Silver  in  various  States  and  Territories 
of  the  United  States  (coining  value)  1899. 

Gold.  Silver. 

Alaska $5,459»5oo       $181,140 

Arizona 2,566,100       2,040,630 

California    15,197,800       1,065,762 

Colorado 25,982,800     29,301,527 

Idaho 1,889,000       4,980,105 

Montana  4,760,100     20.810,990 

Nevada    2,219,000       1,090,457 

New  Mexico   584,000         650,731 

Oregon   1,429,500  173,641 

Utah   3,450,800 

Washington    3,685.400  330,990 

South  Dakota 6,469.500         672,323 

From  the  foregoing  table  it  appears  that  Colorado  and  Cal- 
ifornia are  the  chief  gold  producing  states,  and  Colorado  and 
Montana  those  producing  most  silver.  In  Colorado  silver  is 
mined  chiefly  in  connection  with  lead,  and  in  Montana  in  con- 
nection with  copper. 


SECTION  2. 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  (Continued) 


(86)  WheaLt  Industry 

In  entering  upon  a  discussion  of  the  agricultural  raw  ma- 
terials, we  naturally  take  up  wheat  as  being  of  the  first  import- 
ance, since  it  is  the  chief  bread  grain  of  the  white  race.  Upon 
page  eighty-seven  appears  a  map  showing  the  wheat  production 
of  the  United  States.  A  study  of  this  map  will  show  the  sur- 
prising fact  that  this  country  is  not  by  nature  suited  for  the 


86  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

growing  of  wheat,  and  that  as  our  population  increases  and  our 
industries  become  more  diversified  we  may  expect  to  see  the 
importance  of  this  branch  of  agriculture  decrease.  The  study 
of  our  position  as  a  wheat  growing  nation  will  also  show  us 
what  the  conditions  are  upon  which  successful  wheat  growing 
depends. 

(87)  Wheat  Producing  Sedions 

The  total  wheat  crop  of  the  United  States  in  1899  was  547,- 
303,000  bushels,  produced  in  every  state  of  the  Union,  but  in 
widely  varying  quantities  from  one  section  to  another.  Thus, 
of  this  total  of  547,000,000  bushels,  only  136,000  bushels  were 
produced  in  the  New  England  States — ^less  than  two-tenths  of  i 
per  cent.;  40,911,000  bushels,  or  approximately  7  per  cent.,  were 
produced  in  the  Middle  States;  44,640,000  bushels,  approxi- 
mately 8  per  cent.,  were  produced  in  the  Southern  States;  104,- 
787,000  bushels,  or  12  per  cent.,  were  raised  in  the  Mountain 
States  and  the  Pacific  States,  while  356,828,000  bushels,  or  69 
per  cent.,  were  produced  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories. 
This  division  is  represented  upon  the  mapi  by  the  difference  in 
shading.  In  1889,  out  of  a  total  crop  of  415,000,000  bushels, 
the  Western  States  and  Territories  produced  272,000,000,  or  65 
per  cent.;  the  Eastern  and  Southern  groups  of  states  each  pro- 
duced 9  per  cent.;  and  the  Pacific  States  and  Territories  pro- 
duced 59,000,000  bushels,  or  14  per  cent. 

(88)  Clinvatic  Conditions  of  Wheat  Culture 

It  may  be  seen  from  these  figures  that  during  the  period 
1889-1899,  there  has  been  but  little  change  in  the  rank  of  the 
different  states  as  wheat  producers,  and  that  the  grain  belt  can 
be  fairly  well  defined.  The  section  of  the  country  which  pro- 
duces three-fourths  of  the  wheat  of  the  United  States,  includes 
the  entire  area  lying  between  the  38th  and  the  44th  degree  of 
latitude.  The  mean  annual  temperature  of  this  region  is  be- 
tween 45  and  55  degrees,  the  July  temperature  being  between 
70  and  80,  and  the  January  temperature  below  30  degrees.  The 
rainfall  is  between  35  and  50  inches.  Practically  the  entire 
wheat  crop  of  the  United  States  is  grown  in  regions  where  the 


88  AMERTOAN     INDUSTRIES 

annual  rainfall  is  above  25  inches — during  the  growing  season 
being  from  15  to  25  inches,  and  at  an  elevation  of  less  than  1500 
feet.  Geologically  considered,  most  of  the  v^heat  is  grown 
upon  the  drift  or  glacial  soils. 

(89)  Conditions  NecesseLry  for  Successful  Wheat  Culture 

Eliminating  the  last  two  factors  as  being  in  themselves  of 
secondary  importance — that  is  to  say,  depending  upon  other  in- 
fluences, we  may  infer  certain  things  regarding  the  best  local- 
ities for  wheat  production  and  the  nature  of  wheat  culture.  It 
is  evident  from  the  location  of  the  crop  that  wheat  must  have  an 
abundant  rainfall  during  the  growing  season  and  a  high  temper- 
ature during  the  ripening  season.  Other  considerations  are  of 
minor  consequence,  but  climate  is  all  important.  The  ideal 
climate  for  wheat  growing  is  one  with  a  long  and  rather  wet 
winter  with  little  frost,  prolonged  into  a  cool  and  wet  spring 
which  in  turn  passes  into  a  warm  and  dry  summer.  The  rea- 
sons for  this  are  as  follows: 

1.  Extreme  cold  kills  wheat  in  two  ways;  either  by  chilling 
it,  or  heaving  it  out  of  the  ground.  Where  there  is  a  winter 
temperature  below  the  freezing  point,  therefore,  an  abundant 
snowfall  is  necessary  to  keep  the  plants  from  frost. 

2.  A  cool,  moist,  growing  season  is  necessary  to  a  large 
yield,  because  only  a  single  head  is  produced  for  each  stalk. 
The  plant,  after  it  has  first  started  from  the  seed,  branches  just 
at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  sometimes  forming  ten  plants, 
each  with  its  own  set  of  roots.  After  the  plants  have  topped 
the  ground,  this  process  of  branching  or  "tillering,"  as  it  is 
sometimes  called,  is  arrested;  so  that  on  this  account  a  cool 
spring  is  necessary  to  the  largest  yield  of  wheat.  The  warmer 
and  dryer  the  spring,  the  more  rapid  will  be  the  growth  of  the 
wheat  plant,  and  consequently  the  fewer  the  stalks  and  the  ears. 

(90)  Other  Fa.ctors  in  the  Growing  of  WKeaLt 

After  the  wheat  comes  into  head,  however,  more  sun  and 
less  rain  are  needed,  because  an  excess  of  rain  produces  such 
diseases  as  rust  and  mildew.     Furthermore,  a  hot  ripening  sea- 


HARVESTING    WHEAT — ^IHK    OLD    WAV    AND     IHK    NKW    WA^ 


F 


AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES  gx 

son  makes  the  wheat  more  nutritious  since  it  increases  the 
amount  of  gluten  which  is  its  most  valuable  food  element. 

The  truth  of  these  principles  of  wheat  growing  is  proved 
by  the  yields  of  the  different  states.  The  climate  of  the  state  of 
Washington,  for  example,  comes  nearer  to  the  standard  which 
has  just  been  set  as  the  ideal  condition  of  wheat  culture  than 
that  of  any  other  state.  The  wheat  yield  of  Washington  should, 
therefore,  be  the  largest  of  all,  and  such  we  find  to  be  the  case. 
In  1899  the  wheat  crop  of  this  state  averaged  24  bushels  to  the 
acre,  while  the  average  for  the  entire  United  States  was  only  12 
bushels  to  the  acre.  The  wheat  crop  of  Great  Britain,  which 
has  a  better  wheat  climate  than  that  of  Washington,  averaged 
in  1899,  34.75  bushels  per  acre,  a  part  of  which  was  no  doubt 
due  to  superior  methods  of  production. 

We  reach,  then,  the  rather  astonishing  conclusion  that, 
measured  by  the  highest  standard,  the  great  wheat  growing 
region  of  the  United  States  is  not  particularly  well  adapted  to 
the  growth  of  wheat.  This  is  shown  by  the  yield  of  particular 
states,  the  yield  per  acre  in  North  Dakota,  with  a  total  output 
of  37,700,000  bushels,  being  only  14.7  bushels  per  acre;  of  Min- 
nesota with  68,200,000  bushels,  13.6  bushels;  and  Kansas  with 
36,000,000  bushels.  9.8  bushels  to  the  acre.  Of  the  Eastern 
States,  New  York  has  an  average  yield  of  18.2  bushels,  largely 
due  to  its  more  abundant  rainfall.  The  dominating  factors  in 
the  location  of  wheat  production  in  the  United  States  are  thus 
seen  to  include  something  besides  mere  climate. 

(9Ij  Influences  which  Fostered  Wheal  Growing  in  the  Mississippi  Valley 

The  main  influence  which  has  forced  our  agriculture  into 
wheat  growing  has  doubtless  been  that  the  soils  of  the  Western 
States,  the  great  centers  of  wheat  culture,  are  sufficiently  roll- 
ing for  natural  drainage  and  at  the  same  time  are  level  enough 
to  admit  the  use  of  field  machinery.  The  fact  that  all  of  this 
land  was  practically  given  away  also  accounts  in  large  measure 
for  the  location  of  wheat  culture  here.  Again,  the  larger  yields 
of  good  years*  encourage  the  grower  to  believe  that  all  years 

*Tlie  wheat  crop  of  Kansas,  for  example,  being  valued  at  Jkjo.ooo.ooo  in  1891  and 
$36,000,000  in  1892,  while  in  1893,  1894  and  180s  it  ran  down  to  9.7  million,  15.5  million  and  10.3 
million  respectively. 


92  AMERICAN     INDUSTRIES 

will  be  good  years  and  keep  him  growing  wheat.  Then,  too, 
the  fact  that  what  has  been  the  grain  in  largest  demand  by  the 
Eastern  States  and  by  Europe  helps  to  explain  its  cultivation  on 
such  a  large  scale  in  the  West. 

Taking  the  four  states  of  largest  production  in  1898 — Kan- 
sas, Minnesota,  North  Dakota  and  South  Dakota,  we  find  that 
their  total  yield  in  that  year  was  240.9  million  bushels,  of  which 
184.8  million  bushels,  or  76  per  cent.,  were  shipped  out  of  the 
country  where  it  was  grown.  It  will  thus  be  seen  how  de- 
pendent these  states  were  upon  their  wheat  crop  to  pay  their 
debts  and  purchase  other  commodities.  Wheat  was  the  pro- 
duct which  offered  the  largest  immediate  return,  and,  although 
the  conditions  did  not  particularly  favor  the  cultivation  of  wheat, 
it  was  taken  up  on  a  large  scale  throughout  the  West.  With  the 
growth  of  a  demand  for  garden  stufif,  dairy  and  other  products, 
the  culture  of  wheat  will,  however,  undoubtedly  decline  in  im- 
portance. The  most  remarkable  illustration  of  the  tendency 
to  abandon  the  culture  of  wheat  where  natural  conditions  do 
not  favor  it,  is  furnished  by  the  state  of  Illinois.  In  1880  that 
state  devoted  3,256,000  acres  to  wheat  and  in  1898  only  1,911,- 
000  acres.  The  wheat  crop  in  1880  was  56,508,000  bushels;  in 
1898,  18,383,000  bushels. 

(92)  Shift  in  Loca.iion  of  WheaL*  Industry  Since  1870 

During  the  last  thirty  years  the  location  of  the  wheat  in- 
dustry has  shifted  to  the  Northwest,  and  instead  of  winter  wheat 
being  almost  the  sole  crop,  spring  wheat  has  now  come  to  as- 
sume first  place.  These  changes  in  the  location  of  the  industry 
and  in  the  kind  of  grain  produced  can  be  largely  accounted  for 
by  a  revolution  in  the  methods  of  manufacturing  flour. 

The  nature  of  flour  production  can  be  understood  by  study- 
ing the  structure  and  contents  of  a  grain  of  wheat.  The  hull  of 
this  grain  is  composed  of  two  layers,  one  enclosing  the  other. 
Its  general  consistency  is  that  of  straw.  The  endosperm,  or 
floury  portion,  is  composed  of  large  cells  in  which  grains  of 
starch  are  found.  The  center  of  the  endosperm  is  the  softest 
part,  containing  relatively  the  least  gluten  and  the  most  starch. 
It  is  the  part  which  pailverizes  most  readily  and  gives  the  most 
finely  powdered  flour.     This  flour  makes  a  dough  with  but  little 


i 


X.ONGITUD1NAL  SECTION   OF   THE   WHEAT   BERRY. 

Jtxplanation:  I.  Superficial  side  of  the  crease.     2.  Epidermis,  or  hull.     3.   Epicarp.     4.   Endocarp 

5    Episperm;  celJs  containing  coloring  matter.     6.   Embryous  membrane. 

7.   Endosperm,  or  floury  portion.     8.   Embryo,  or  germ. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


93 


strength,  owing  to  the  small  amount'of  gluten  it  contains.  The 
layer  which  surrounds  the  center  is  richer  in  gluten  and  harder. 
Its  weight  is  1-5  that  of  the  whole  berry. 

The  layer  immediately  in  contact  with  the  bran  layer  or 
hull  is  the  richest  of  all  in  gluten  but  adheres  very  closely  to 
the  bran  and  is  with  great  difficulty  separated.  The  bran,  of 
course,  has  no  nutritive  value,  being  composed  of  cellulose  which 
cannot  be  utilized  by  the  human  system.  The  germ  is  rich  in 
phosphorus  and  is  surrounded  by  a  number  of  fatty  cells.  Some 
authorities  contend  that  this  germ  should  be  retained  in  the 
fllour,  but  the  general  practice  has  been  to  eliminate  it. 

Understanding  now  the  structure  of  the  endosperm  of  the 
wheat  berry,  we  find  it  to  be  formed  of  floury  layers  of  cells  ar- 
ranged in  concentric  circles  and  increasing  in  richness  from  the 
center.  The  object  of  the  flour  making  process  is  to  eliminate 
all  material  outside  of  the  endosperm,  but  to  retain  as  much  of 
that  as  possible. 


(93)  Old  Process 

The  first  method  of  making  flour  Which  was  generally  em- 
ployed in  the  United  States  is  known  as  the  old  process,  and  is 
still  in  use  in  some  towns.  It  consists  of  crushing  the  grain  be- 
tween two  flat  stones  set  so  closely  together  that  the  distance 
between  them  is  less  than  the  diameter  of  the  wheat  berry,  the 
lower  stone  being  fixed  and  the  upper  stone  revolving  upon  it. 
The  millstones  are  usually  made  of  porous  sandstone;  the  upper 
one  having  an  opening  through  which  the  grain  is  fed  down  be- 
tween the  stones,  and  the  lower  one  being  provided  with  chan- 
nels for  the  escape  of  the  meal.  It  is  highly  necessary  to  the 
perfect  grinding  of  the  grain  that  the  upper  stone  be  exactly  bal- 
anced in  a  horizontal  position,  and  that  each  stone  have  a  per- 
fectly plane  surface.  To  this  end  the  stones  must  frequently  be 
dressed  off  with  a  small  steel  pick,  an  operation  requiring  them 
to  be  taken  apart  and  reset.  The  speed  ranges  about  250  rev- 
olutions a  minute. 

The  second  part  of  the  process  is  the  bolting,  or  separating 
the  flour  from  the  bran  and  other  coarse  material.  The  ma- 
chine employed  for  doing  this  is  called  a  bolt  and  consists  of  a 


94  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

cylindrical  frame  of  wood  r8  feet  long  and  30  inches  in  diam- 
eter, covered  with  silk  cloth.  Four  of  these  frames  are  enclosed 
in  a  bolting  chest  in  such  a  way  that  when  the  granulated  ma- 
terial is  fed  into  the  top,  the  bolt  can  be  so  agitated  as  to  sift 
the  material,  the  fine  flour  passing  through  the  bolt  and  the 
bran  remaining  behind.  The  great  objection  to  the  old  pro- 
cess was  that  it  either  gave  flour  which  was  too  weak  or  which 
contained  too  much  bran,  according  as  the  grain  was  coarse  or 
fine  ground. 

(94)  New  Process 

The  essential  difference  between  the  old  process  and  the 
new  is  that,  instead  of  the  reduction  of  the  wheat  to  flour  being 
performed  in  one  grinding,  several  grindings,  sometimes  even 
six  or  eig'ht  are  now  required.  The  grain  is  first  roughly 
ground,  the  stones,  or  the  steel  rollers  being  set  farther  apart 
than  in  the  old  process,  the  object  being  merely  to  separate  the 
endosperm  from  its  covering  of  bran.  The  granulated  wheat  is 
then  bolted  or  sifted  to  separate  the  bran,  the  ordinary  appliance 
being  now  a  circular  hopper,  covered  with  silk,  which  is  kept 
rapidly  revolving.  The  purified  middlings  are  then  ground  and 
sifted  a  second  time  and  the  lowest  grade  of  flour,  the  softest 
and  least  valuable  part  of  the  grain,  is  separated.  The  mid- 
dlings are  again  ground  and  sifted,  at  each  successive  reduction 
a  finer  quality  of.  flour  being  produced  until,  at  the  final  grind- 
ing, the  finest  grade  of  patent  flour  is  turned  out.  The  succes- 
sive grindings  going  out  from  the  center  reduce  successive  lay- 
ers of  cells  in  the  endosperm,  each  successive  layer  increasing  in 
hardness  and  tenacity,  and  in  its  percentage  of  gluten  content. 
The  different  grades  of  flour  with  which  every  one  is  familiar 
are  in  this  way  produced. 

(95)  Different  Grades  of  Flour 

Each  grade  is  kept  separate  and  sold  under  a  different 
name  and  for  a  different  price;  as  "extra,"  "clear,"  "patent,"- 
"straight" — all  descriptive  of  Minneapolis  flour,  the  "patent" 
being  the  finest  made,  and  frequently  commanding  a  price  much 
higher  than  that  of  the  "straights."  The  general  introduction 
of  rollers  into  mill  practice  is  without  special  significance  so  far 


I 


I 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


95 


asthe  production  of  fine  flour  is  concerned,  the  object  of  this 
change  being  merely  to  increase  the  durabihty  of  the  grinding 
surface  and  to  set  the  rollers  more  accurately  than  was  possible 
with  the  stones. 


(96)  Hard  9.nd  Soft  Wheat 

The  introduction  of  the  gradual  reduction  process  has  rev- 
olutionized the  grain  trade  by  making  possible  the  utilization  of 
the  hard  wheat  of  the  Northwest.  This  was  richer  in  gluten 
than  the  softer  winter  wheat,  but  had  a  hard,  brittle  hull  or  bran 
which  became  mingled  with  the  particles  of  the  endosperm  and 
could  not  be  bolted  out.  The  flour  made  from  it  was  dark  col- 
ored and  of  inferior  quality  to  that  made  from  winter  wheat 
whose  hull  is  tougher,  resisting  grinding  better,  and  being  more 
thoroughly  parted  from  the  flour.  Hard  wheat  commanded  a 
low  price  as  compared  with  winter  wheat,  sometimes  selling  at 
20  cents  a  bushel  less,  and  the  price  of  flour  made  from  this 
wheat  was  also  proportionately  reduced. 

By  the  gradual  reduction  process,  which  has  now  become 
almost  universal,  the  positions  have  been  reversed;  hard  wheat 
commands  a  much  higher  price  and  patent  flour  is  the  finest 
grade  sold.  A  rough  crushing  separates  the  brittle  bran,  and 
the  endosperm,  far  richer  in  gluten  than  that  of  the  winter 
wheat,  is  thus  made  available.  This  fact  accounts  in  large 
measure  for  the  shift  of  the  centers  of  wheat  production  to  the 
northwest.  It  also  accounts  for  the  gradual  change  from  win- 
ter to  spring  wheat,  which  is  going  on  throughout  the  West,  the 
wheat  crop  of  Kansas,  for  example,  having  gone  over  very 
largely  to  the  hard  spring  wheat.  In  1898,  out  of  a  total  flour 
production  for  the  United  States  of  23.7  million  barrels,  14.2 
million  were  produced  at  Minneapolis,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
remainder  was  produced  out  of  hard  wheat. 

(97)  Corn 

The  corn  crop  of  the  United  States  is  of  greater  industrial 
importance  than  the  wheat  crop.  In  1900  the  value  of  the  corn 
crop  was  $751,220,034  while  the  wheat  crop  brought  only  $323,- 
515,177.  Corn  is  important,  however,  not  because  it  is  directly 
used  to  any  great  extent  as  food  for  man,  but  because  in  the 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  97 

form  of  beef  and  pork  it  forms  such  a  large  part  of  the  national 
food  supply.  The  corn  map  of  the  United  States  appears  on 
the  opposite  page.  As  in  the  discussion  of  the  location  of 
wheat,  we  shall  study  the  nature  of  the  plant  and  its  climatic 
limitations. 

(98)  Extent  and  Location  of  the  Corn  Crop 

The  corn  crop  of  the  United  States  in  1899  was  approxi- 
mately two  billion  bushels.  Of  this  amount  6.6  million  bushels 
were  produced  in  the  New  England  States,  70.2  million  bushels 
in  the  Middle  States,  510.5  million  bushels  in  the  Southern 
States,  556.2  million  bushels  in  the  North  Central  States,  898.3 
million  bushels  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  States,  and  77.3  million 
bushels  in  other  states  and  territories.  The  bulk  of  the  crop'  of 
1 145  million  bushels  was  raised  in  five  states — Illinois,  Minne- 
sota, Iowa,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  and  these  states,  with  north- 
ern Missouri  and  portions  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  constituting  the  corn  belt. 

The  general  distribution  of  the  crop  throughout  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  United  States  and  especially  throughout  the 
South,  indicates  what  is  in  fact  true — that  corn  is  distinctly  the 
American  grain  and  that  it  has  almost  unlimited  power  to  adapt 
itself  to  new  conditions.  The  Corn  Map  on  the  opposite  page 
should  be  studied  in  connection  with  this  discussion,  as  well  as 
those  on  pages  98  and  100,  showing  the  dates  of  early  and  late 
frosts  and  the  average  rainfall. 

(99)  Ideal  Conditions  for  Corn  Production 

The  ideal  climate  for  corn  is  one  with  a  summer  four  and  a 
half  months  long,  the  middle  portion  hot,  both  day  and 
night,  with  rains  sufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  a  rapidly 
growing  crop,  and  falling  at  such  intervals  as  to  provide  moist- 
ure without  making  the  soil  actually  wet.  It  will  be  observed 
from  the  accompanying  maps  that  the  location  of  the  corn  crop 
very  closely  follows  this  rule. 

More  than  seven-eighths  of  the  crop  grows  where  the  July 
temperature  is  between  70  and  80.  Corn  is  not,  however,  well 
suited  to  a  tropical  or  sub-tropical  temperature,  and  on  this  ac- 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


99 


count  does  not  grow  well  on  the  low  lands  of  the  South,  al- 
though flourishing  throughout  the  southern  upland  region. 
The  corn  plant  is  peculiarly  sensitive  to  frosts,  and  successful 
corn  culture  is  impossible  where  exemption  from  frosts  is  not 
assured. 

The  need  of  abundant  rainfall  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  crop  is  grown  where  the  rainfall  is  be- 
tween 30  and  50  inches,  only  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  being 
produced  where  the  rainfall  is  less  than  20  inches.  Another 
reason  can  be  given  for  this.  Corn  requires  hot  nights  as  well 
as  hot  days  for  its  best  growth.  In  regions  of  small  rainfall  the 
air  is  dry  during  the  growing  period  and  the  radiation  of  heat 
during  the  night  is  much  greater  than  where  the  air  is  moist. 
The  days  in  such  a  region  are  hotter  and  the  nights  cooler  than 
in  a  moist  climate.  This  condition  prevails  over  all  the  drier 
portions  of  the  United  States,  especially  where  dryness  and  ele- 
vation go  together;  and  for  this  reason  but  little  corn  is  grown 
where  the  elevation  is  more  than  2000  feet.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  liability  to  damage  from  frosts  is  more  serious  in  the 
highlands. 

Abundant  rainfall  during  the  growing  season  is  especially 
essential  to  a  large  yield  of  corn.  Practically  all  of  the  crop  is 
produced  where  the  rainfall  is  between  15  and  30  inches. 

(100)  Varieties  of  Corn 


Within  the  climatic  limits  which  have  been  described,  corn 
very  readily  adapts  itself  to  changing  conditions  of  soil  and 
\  climate.  This  power  of  adaptation  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
150  standard  varieties  of  corn  are  successfully  cultivated  in  the 
United  States.  The  two  main  varieties  of  corn  are  known  as 
flint  corn  and  dent  corn.  The  dent  corn  plant  branches  higher 
and  bears  ears  higher  on  the  stalk,  the  stalk,  moreover,  being 
less  liable  to  branch  below.  It  is  also  distinguished  by  a  de- 
pression in  the  face  of  the  kernel.  Flint  corn  produces  its  ears 
near  the  ground  and  bears  fewer  on  each  stalk.  Its  kernel  is 
harder  than  that  of  dent  corn,  and  has  a  smooth  and  shiny 
surface. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


161 


(lOlj  Other  Grains 

The  following  tables  show  the  location  of  oats,  rye,  barley, 
hay  and  potatoes  in  the  United  States  in  1899.  Only  the  im- 
portant producing  states  are  included: 

I.  Oats. 

Production, 
Name  of  State.  Bushels,  1899. 

New  York 45,401,608 

Pennsylvania 39,148,032 

Indiana   34.301,248 

Illinois 127,278,948 

Wisconsin    67,687,380 

Minnesota  52,688,416 

Iowa  126,985,749 

Missouri 20,299,350 

Kansas  39.129,410 

Nebraska  51,474,120 

Ohio   32,945.976 

Michigan   30,599,048 

North  Dakota    17.987.670 

South  Dakota 15,332,278 

Texas  17,067,975 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that  the  production  of  oats, 
while  largest  in  the  heart  of  the  corn  belt,  extends  much  farther 
north  and  south  than  either  corn  or  wheat.  Oats  is  a  hardier 
grain  than  either  corn  or  wheat,  and  is  therefore  less  affected 
by  climate.  Considerable  quantities  of  oats  are  raised  in  nearly 
every  state.  The  chief  use  of  this  grain  is  for  stock  feeding  pur- 
poses. Of  recent  years,  in  the  form  of  oat  meal,  rolled  oats  and 
other  prepared  foods,,  it  has  become  an  important  article  of 
American  diet.  Oat  straw  is  also  valuable.  It  is  much  super- 
ior to  wheat  straw  as  cattle  feed  and  is  also  in  large  use  in  man- 
ufacturing  industry,  both  for  packing  and  in  the  manufacture 
of  paper. 

II.  Rye  and  Barley. 
Rye. 
State.  Amount.     State. 


New  York 2,034.816  Wisconsin 

New  Jersey 550,432  Minnesota 

Pennsylvania 2,007,406  Iowa 

Illinois 542.533  Kansas  .  .  , 

Michigan   570.446  California 


Amount. 

1.475.100 
467,238 
811.944 
649.258 
426,722 


IM  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Barley. 

State.                           Amount  State.  Amount. 

New  York  2,026,236  South  Dakota  ....  699,003 

Wisconsin  .......     3,068,220  North  Dakota   .  . .  1,950,086 

Michigan 445,029  Washington  620,558 

Minnesota 2,524,679  Oregon 398,958 

Iowa 3,723,688  CaHfornia   11,119,888 

Kansas    859,455 

(102)  The  Production  of  Rye 

The  production  of  rye  is  of  httle  importance  in  the  United 
States,  and  is  not  increasing.  The  total  yield  in  1899  was  23,- 
961,741  bushels,  less  than  three  million  bushels  increase  over 
the  crop  of  1879.  Although  formerly  in  large  use  as  a  bread 
grain,  its  chief  use  to-day  is  for  distilling  purposes.  Rye  is  a 
very  hardy  plant  and  thrives  best  in  a  cool  and  moist  climate. 
This  is  apparent  from  the  location  of  its  production.  Rye  straw 
is  in  demand  for  making  paper  and  pasteboard. 

(103)  Cultivation  of  B&rley 

Barley  is  cultivated  through  a  wider  range  of  climate  than 
any  other  cereal.  It  is  the  most  hardy  member  of  the  cereal 
group,  growing  almost  up  to  the  point  where  vegetation  is  ar- 
rested by  the  cold,  and  flourishing  also  in  a  semi-tropical  clim- 
ate. It  will  be  observed  from  the  table  given  above  that  Cali- 
fornia produces  more  barley  than  any  other  state,  while  on  the 
other  hand,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country.  New  York  has 
a  large  production.  Barley  is  mainly  used  in  the  brewing  in- 
dustry. 

III.  Rice. 

(104)  The  Production  of  R.ice 

Rice  is  a  cereal  of  the  grass  family,  which  grows  only  in 
warm  climates  and  moist  or  wet  ground.  This  grain  forms  a 
staple  article  of  food  in  most  tropical  countries.  The  rice  crop 
of  Bengal  in  1898-1899  amounted  to  47,863,849,600  pounds. 
Rice  has  long  been  cultivated  in  the  low  grounds  of  the  Caro- 
linas  where  natural  conditions  allow  the  flooding  of  the  rice 
fields;  but  the  crop  has  always  remained  small.     In  spite  of  the 


' 


T 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  103 

fact  that  rice  is  a  palatable  and  highly  nutritious  food  and  that 
it  can  be  prepared  in  a  variety  of  ways,  it  has  not,  until  recently, 
begun  to  make  its  way  into  the  American  dietary.  Of  late 
years,  the  prejudice  against  its  use  has  been  overcome  and  the 
crop  has  been  rapidly  increased,  chiefly  from  the  rap-id  growth 
of  the  industry  in  southern  Louisiana  where  irrigation  is  ex- 
tensively practiced.  The  rice  crop  of  1898-1899  was  136,990,720 
pounds,  of  which  Louisiana  produced  107,792,000  pounds.  The 
industry  is  at  present  confined  to  North  and  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  Louisiana.  Florida  may  be  expected  to  event- 
ually contribute  to  the  supply. 

IV.  Potatoes. 

The  following  table  presents  the  potato  crop  of  1899  by 
states.     Only  large  producers  are  included  in  the  list. 

State.                                              Yield  in  bu.  Acres. 

^"^laine 6,514,235  46,865 

New  Hampshire 2,370,074  18,662 

Vermont 3,288,780  24,915 

^lassachusetts    3,760,710  28,065 

Rhode  Island 1,024,104  7,212 

Connecticut 3,323,060  25,562 

New  York  28,707,976  326,227 

New  Jersey 3,980,265  47.955 

Pennsylvania 15,243,815  179,339 

Maryland 1,420,352  22,193 

Virginia 2.409,990  36,515 

North  Carolina 928.701  16,293 

Texas 927,936  14,499 

Arkansas 1,773.198  28,146 

Tennessee 1,135,464  25,806 

West  Virginia 2,672,784  37,122 

Kentucky 2,025,210  39,710 

Ohio 11,505,053  162,043 

Michigan 11,430,210  l7^■'^^5 

Indiana 8,214.232  108,082 

Illinois 15,648,192  163.002 

Wisconsin i6.to2.7tt  156,337 

Minnesota    10.888.608  11342,'? 

Iowa   io.8_i7.8oo  198,478 

Missouri    8,7C7.496  105,521 

Kansas 9,466,370  99,646 


104  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Potatoes  (continued). 

State.  Yield  in  bu.  Acres. 

Nebraska   13,494,640  143,56c 

South  Dakota 4,440,150  56,925 

North  Dakota 3,074,962  29,854 

Colorado 2,713,536  32,304 

Washington 2,217,168  i5,397 

Oregon   i,7i7>4io  14,934 

California   3»i58>6i7  26,543 

(105)  Pota.to  Most  Widely  Cultivated  Food  Crop 

The  potato  is  the  most  widely  cultivated  of  all  edible  roots. 
It  is  also  more  productive  than  any  other  plant,  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  it  produces  30  fold  more  to  the  acre  than  wheat. 
The  potato  consists  almost  wholly  of  starch,  and,  on  this  ac- 
count, it  cannot  be  eaten  to  advantage  except  with  other  foods. 
The  potato  thrives  best  in  the  north  in  a  moist,  cool  climate. 
It  is  found  in  two  varieties,  the  Irish,  or  white  potato,  and  the 
sweet  potato,  or  yam,  which  is  the  kind  grown  in  the  Southern 
States,  although  produced  on  a  large  scale  in  those  portions  of 
the  north  which  enjoy  a  mild  climate.  The  universality  of  its 
production  is  shown  by  the  preceding  table,  in  which  almost 
every  state  is  represented. 

(106) 

V.  Hay.  (1899.) 

Production 

State.                                                  (tons).  Acres. 

Maine 879.163  976,848 

New  Hampshire   535,866  602,097 

Vermont   961,288  843,235 

Massachusetts    667,499  590,707 

Rhode  Island  64,977  73,oo8 

Connecticut   446.953  475482 

New  York 4,530,307  4.356.064 

New  Jersey 325,519  392.191 

Pennsylvania 3.068.970  2,557.475 

Delaware   '48,620  46.750 

Maryland    310.781  282.992 

Virginia    588,063  534,6o3 

North  Carolina    19^,789  130,526 

South   Carolina    176.112  144.354 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  loj 

V.  Hay.  (1899 — continued.) 

Production 

State.  (tons).  Acres. 

Georgia  158,466  109,287 

Alabama 82,746  49,847 

Mississippi  .  . .  -. 79»059  54»902 

Louisiana 49»540  25,405 

Texas 444,953  311,156 

Arkansas 205,491  138,845 

Tennessee  318,786  243,348 

West  Virginia   643,707  498,988 

Kentucky  394,963  306,173 

Ohio 2,133,699  1,641,307 

Michigan 1,650,675  1,352,766 

Indiana 2,093,376  1,562,221 

Illinois   2,365,710  1,833,884 

Wisconsin 1,946,718  1,324,298 

Minnesota 2,575,230  1,514,841 

Iowa  5>025,974  3,750,727 

Missouri 3,094,394  2,258,682 

Kansas 5.i55,9o8  3,284,018 

Nebraska   3,377,698  2,034,758 

South  Dakota 2,779,474  1,943,688 

North  Dakota   606,796  384,048 

Montana   5^3,931  361,923 

Wyoming 399,783  271,961 

Colorado  1,630,274  776,321 

New  Mexico 65,127  38,310 

Arizona   72,651  27,624 

Utah 485,852  194,341 

Nevada 294,488  157,480 

Idaho 539-895  215,958 

Washington    613,664  303,794 

Oregon    1,255,264  637,190 

California 2,784,182  1,708,087 

The  foregoing  table  shows  how  widespread  is  -the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  various  forage  crops  which  can  be  included  under 
the  title  of  this  section.  Flo'-ida  is  the  only  state  whose  area 
and  production  is  unappreciable.  The  yield  of  hay  in  the 
United  States  includes  many  kinds  of  grasses,  plants  of  the 
clover  family,  which  are  not  true  grasses,  and  some  of  the 
grains.  The  chief  varieties  are  Timothy,  Red  Top,  Blue  Grass, 
Clover  and  Alfalfa;  the  latter,  on  account  of  its  long  root,  grows 
7 


I06  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

best  in  wet  ground  and,  for  this  reason,  even  in  localities  fav- 
ored with  an  abundant  rainfall,  the  practice  is  coming  into 
vogue  of  irrigating  meadows. 


The  Animal  Industry 

(107)  Animal  Industry  of  the  United  States 

The  animal  mdustry  of  the  United  States  is  the  most  im- 
portant single  branch  of  agriculture  because  it  is  the  one  in 
which  all  other  branches,  in  greater  or  less  degree,  converge 
and  mingle.  Practically  the  entire  crops  of  corn,  oats  and  hay 
go  into  the  production  of  stock.  A  large  part  of  the  cotton  crop 
m  the  form  of  cotton  hulls  and  cotton  meal;  a  large  part  of  the 
rye  and  barley  crop  in  the  form  of  brewers'  and  distillers'  waste; 
and  a  large  part  of  the  sugar  crop  in  the  form  of  bagasse,  and 
low  grade  molasses  also  contribute  to  the  feeding  of  stock-, 
while  in  addition,  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  root  crops  are 
cultivated  for  stock  feeding  purposes.  The  total  number  of 
farm  animals  in  the  United  States  in  1899  was  as  follows: 
Horses,  13.6  million;  mules,  2.1  million;  milch  cows,  15.9  mil- 
lion; oxen  and  other  cattle,  27.9  million;  sheep,  39.1  million; 
swine,  38.6  tiiillion,  a  total  of  137.2  million.  This  stock  was 
valued  at  $1,997,000,000. 

(108)  Animals  Used  for  Food 

Omitting  from  consideration  for  the  present  everything  ex- 
cept the  animals  used  lor  food,  we  find  that  every  year  in  the 
United  States  there  are  killed  for  food  9,000,000  cattle,  33,000,- 
000  hogs,  and  30,000,000  sheep,  or  a  total  of  72,000,000  animals 
each  year,  valued  at  one  billion  dollars  on  the  farm,  and  at  three 
times  that  value  at  the  place  of  consumption. 

(109)  Territorial  Grouping 

In  regard  to  the  territorial  grouping  of  the  animals  used 
for  food,  it  is  possible  only  to  give  the  figures  of  milch  cows, 
oxen  and  other  cattle  and  sheep.     Tlie  statistics  of  swine  are 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  107 

not  sufficiently  complete  to  admit  of  their  classification  accord- 
ing to  location.  Taking  these  up  in  their  order,  we  find  that 
the  total  number  of  milch  cows  in  the  United  States  in  1899  ^'^^s 
15,900,000,  distributed  us  follows:  New  England  and  the  Middte 
States,  3.5  million;  Southern  States,  including  Missouri,  Ken- 
tucky, West  Virginia,  Texas,  and  Arkansas,  4.0  million;  North 
Central  States,  3.7  million;  Prairie  States  west  of  Mississippi — 
Minnesota,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  the  Dakotas — 3.7  million; 
Mountain  States,  .3  million;  Pacific  States,  .5  million.  Of  other 
cattle,  numbering  in  all  27.9  million,  the  New  England  and  Mid- 
dle States  had  1.6  million;  the  Southern  States,  9.4  mil- 
lion, not  counting  Texas,  which  had  8  million;  the  North  Cen- 
tral States,  3.5  million;  the  Northwestern  States,  6.9  million;  the 
Mountain  States,  4.6  million;  and  the  Pacific  States,  1.5  million. 
Of  the  39.1  million  sheep,  2.1  million  were  in  the  New  England 
and  Middle  States,  6.4  million  in  the  Southern  States,  6.1  million 
m  the  North  Central  States,  2.8  million  in  the  Northwestern 
States,  5.5  million  in  the  Pacific  States  and  16.5  million  in  the 
Mountain  States — nearly  half  the  total. 

Let  us  now  examme  the  corresponding  figures  for  1870  to 
see  what  changes  have  taken  place  needing  explanation.  The 
total  number  of  farm  animals  in  the  United  States  at  these  two 
dates  was  as  follows: 

1899.  1870. 

Milch  Cows 15,990,000  10,023,000 

Oxen  and  other  Cattle 27,994,000  16,200,000 

Sheep 39,114,000  31,851,000 

(110)  Increase  in  the  Number  of  MilcK  Cows 

The  number  of  milch  cows  has  increased  approximately  f~ 
60% ;  of  oxen  and  other  cattle,  75% ;  and  in  the  number  of  sheep 
the  increase  has  been  21%.  Referring  again  to  the  table  of  sec- 
tional production  it  may  be  seen  that  in  1870  out  of  10,000,000 
milch  cows  there  were  2.0  million  in  New  England  and  Middle 
States,  3.2  million  in  the  Southern  States,  2.5  million  in  the 
North  Central  States,  .8  million  in  the  Northwestern  States  and 
in  the  other  Western  States  and  Territories,  1.2  million.  Of 
oxen  and  other  cattle  there  were  in  the  New  England  and  Mid- 


io8  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

die  States  out  of  16,000,000,  2.3  million,  in  the  Southern  States, 
y.y  million,  in  the  North  Central  States,  3.6  million,  in  the 
Northwestern  States,  1.4  million,  and  in  the  other  Western 
States  and  Territories,  1.4  million.  Of  sheep,  numbering  31.8 
miUion  in  all,  there  were  in  the  New  England  and  Middle  States 
5.4  million,  in  the  Southern  States  6.5  million,  in  the  North 
Central  States  12.2  million,  in  the  Northwestern  States  2,1  mil- 
lion, and  in  the  other  Western  States  and  Territories  7.6  million. 
Arranging  these  results  in  a  table  for  purposes  of  con- 
venient comparison  we  have  the  following.  (Figures  given  in 
millions  and  tenths  of  millions.) 

Milch  Cows  Cattle  Sheep 

1899     1870  1899     1870  1899     1870 

New  Eng.  &  Middle  3.5     2.0  1.6     2.3  2.1     5.4 

Southern 4-0    3-2  9-4    77  6.4    6.5 

North  Central 3.7     2.5  3.5     3.6  6.1   12.2 

Northwestern 3.7       .8  6.9     1.4  2.8    2.1 

Mountain 3)  4-6)  i6.5-\ 

4  r  5-5 


V'  \y 


Pacific 5  '  i-5  "'  5-5^ 

In  milch  cows  the  New  England  States  have  increased  their 
holdings  75%,  or  15%  more  than  the  average  for  the  entire 
country.  The  Southern  States  have  only  increased  their  hold- 
ings 25%;  the  North  Central  States,  50%;  the  Northwestern 
States,  approximately,  270%,  and  the  Mountain  and  Pacific 
States  show  a  decrease.  In  cattle,  the  New  England  States 
have  fallen  off  30%;  the  Southern  States  have  increased  22%; 
the  North  Central  States  have  remained  practically  stationary; 
while  the  Northwestern  States  have  increased  their  holdings 
nearly  400%,  and  the  Mountain  and  Pacific  States,  300%.  We 
see,  therefore,  that  in  milch  cows  the  New  England  States  and 
the  North  Central  States  have  shown  a  moderate  increase. 
The  South  has  remained  practically  stationary,  while  the  North- 
west has  shown  a  remarkable  increase  from  2.1  million  in  1870 
to  3.7  million  in  1899. 

(Ill)  Oxen  and  Other  CaLttle 

In  oxen  and  other  cattle  the  New  England  and  Middle 
States  show  a  marked  decline;  the  Southern  States  have  in- 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  iii 

creased  only  22%  as  compared  with  75%  for  the  entire  country; 

the  North  Central  States  have  remained  stationary,  while  nearly 

the  entire  increase  has  come  in  the  Northwestern,  Mountain  and 

Pacific  States. 

In  order  to  show  this  point  more  clearly  let  us  compare  the 

number  of  cattle  in  separate  states  of  the  Northwestern,  North 

Central  and  New  England  and  Middle  groups  of  states  for  1870 

and  1899. 

1899  1870 

New  Hampshire 79,000         133,000 

New  York  561,000         705,000 

Pennsylvania  528,000         760,000 

Ohio    616,000         800,700 

Indiana 641,000         750.000 

Wisconsin   589,000         388,000 

Iowa    2,163,000         814,000 

Nebraska   2,076,000         345,000 

Kansas   1,395,000  54,000 

(112)  Shifting  of  CatUe  Industry 

The  cattle  industry  has  plainly  shifted  from  the  east  to  the 
west.  It  is  the  same  with  the  sheep  industry.  The  following 
table  gives  the  number  of  sheep  for  the  two  dates  in  separate 
States. 

1899  1870 

New  Hampshire  78,000  234.000 

Vermont    165,000  548.000 

Pennsylvania   790,000         i  .762.000 

Illinois   613,000         1,424,000 

Indiana 674,000         2,100,000 

Ohio    1,396,000        4.641,000 

The  Territories. 

New  Mexico 3,128,000 

Montana   3,377,000 

Wyoming 2,328,000         1,500.000 

It  is  plain  from  these  tables  that  the  industry  of  sheep  rais- 
ing has  also  been  largely  transferred  from  the  Eastern  and  Mid- 
dle States  to  the  far  West.  From  all  these  movements  the 
South  has  stood  almost  entirely  aloof.  Her  position  is  almost 
the  same  in  regard  to  the  animal  industry  that  it  was  thirty 


112  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

years     ago.     With     the  exception  of  Texas  and  Missouri,  the 
South  has  stood  still  and  may  therefore  be  disregarded. 

(113)  Reasons  for  the  Change  in  LoceLtion  of  AnimaLl  Industry 

The  reasons  for  these  astonishing  changes  might  of  course 
be  generally  stated  to  be  that  the  West  and  Northwest  were  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  growing  of  cattle  and  sheep  than  the  eastern 
parts  of  the  country,  and  that  for  these  reasons  the  industry  had 
been  shifted.  Although  this  may  be  admitted,  still  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  there  must  have  been  some  potent  cause  at  W'Oilc 
to  have  accomplished  such  great  changes  in  so  short  a  time. 
This  cause  was  the  fall  of  prices  from  1870  to  1896,  the  main 
points  of  which  are  presented  in  the  following  table : 

Per  cent. 
1870  1896  decrease. 

Mutton,  per  lb $.18  $.12  33  1-3 

Beef  loins,  per  lb 30  .20  33  1-3 

Wool,  per  lb 69  .30  57 

This  fall  was  not  continuous.  There  were  frequent  ad- 
vances, notably  in  cattle,  during  the  three  years  preceding  1885, 
and,  at  every  advance,  the  cattle  men  and  sheep  men  would  push 
out  farther  west  where  conditions  were  more  favorable  to  them, 
while  to  the  eastern  growers,  they  became  all  the  harder  by  the 
succeeding  depression.  The  result  of  the  movement  was  to  ex- 
clude from  cattle  and  sheep  growing  in  the  Eastern  States  all 
except  those  most  favorably  situated,  while  these  industries 
gained  a  strong  footing  in  the  western  country.  The  result  of 
the  fall  of  prices  was  to  hasten  the  location  of  the  animal  indus- 
try of  the  United  States  in  the  localities  most  favorable  to  its 
profitable  conduct. 

(114)  ReaLSons  for  the  Present  Location  of  the  Sheep  Industry 

As  was  just  pointed  out,  the  price  of  wool  had  fallen  57% 
from  1870  to  1896,  and  the  price  of  mutton,  33  1-3%.  By  rea- 
son of  this  sharp  and  sudden  decline  in  the  profits  of  mutton 
and  wool  production,  the  industry  had  been  rapidly  shifted  to 
other  and  more  favorably  situated  localities.  We  have  now  to 
consider  the  reason  for  these  changes.     The  following  compu- 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  113 

tations  were  made  in  1888  and  refer  to  the  relative  cost  of  rais- 
ing sheep  in  the  Eastern  States  and  on  the  plains. 

Eastern  States.     The  Cost  is  per  Animal. 

Food  4  1-2  months  $2.02 

Labor,  one  man,  $17  per  month,  with  board,  $6  ....  .46 

Land  (2  sheep  to  acre  at  rent  of  $1  per  acre) .50 

Interest  on  cost  of  buildings    and    permanent     im- 
provements     .05 

Interest  on  value  of  sheep,  at  $3  per  sheep .18 

$3.21 
Return  on  Sheep 

Wool,  4  1-2  lbs.  at  $.25 $1.12  1-2 

Mutton,  52.8  lbs.  at  5c 2.64 

$3.76  1-2 
3.21 

Net  profit  per  sheep $.55  1-2 

or  at  two  sheep  to  the  acre,  $1.11  per  acre.  Sheep  growing  in 
the  Eastern  States,  as  an  extensive  employment  for  the  land,  is 
not  a  profitable  business.  The  Eastern  farmer  and  the  farmer 
of  the  Central  Northern  States  can  make  more  on  almost  any 
other  crop  than  a  crop  of  sheep.  Under  these  circumstances, 
sheep  raising  has  tended  to  become  a  by-industry,  sheep  being 
raised  in  smaller  flocks,  and  only  on  waste  or  fallow  land.  An 
additional  reason  for  the  shift  in  the  sheep  and  wool  industry 
was  the  invention  of  machinery  which  could  comb  short  staple 
wool,  that  is,  make  worsted  yarn  out  of  it. 

'115)  Sheep  of  Eastern  and  CentraLl  Northern  States 

The  sheep  of  the  Eastern  and  Central  Northern  States  were 
almost  all  descended  from  the  Spanish  merinos,  valued  for  their 
long  wool,  while  their  flesh  was  coarse  and  of  small  value  for 
mutton.  When  long  staple  wool  ceased  to  bear  a  high  price, 
these  long  haired  merinos  decreased  in  value,  and  the  low  value 
of  their  flesh  as  mutton  hastened  the  abandonment  of  the  in- 
dustry in  this  part  of  the  country.  On  the  Western  plains,  on 
the  other  hand,  until  a  comparatively  recent  jicriod,  the  land 


114  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

was  almost  entirely  free.  Ownership  of  a  small  tract  or  a  water 
right  gave  a  free  range  on  government  lands.  There  is  little  or 
no  expense  for  food.  The  sheep  can  get  through  the  winter  on 
the  sage  brush  which  the  snow  does  not  cover.  In  Colorado 
the  highest  cost  for  food  per  sheep  in  1888  was  three  cents  per 
head.  Nor  is  the  cost  of  shelter  an  appreciable  expense.  In 
the  North,  the  sheep  are  kept  near  covered  sheds  in  winter,  but 
this  practice  is  not  widely  extended.  The  highest  cost  reported 
in  1888  was  8  1-2  cents  for  interest.  The  only  important  ele- 
ments of  cost  in  the  western  sheep  country  is  for  the  item  of 
labor,  which  is  about  35  cents  per  sheep,  and  for  interest  on  the 
investment,  which  is  about  9  cents  per  sheep.  The  return  is 
much  greater  than  the  cost.  In  Montana,  for  example,  the 
total  cost  per  sheep  is  52  1-2  cents  and  the  return  per  sheep 
is  $1.58;  while  in  New  Mexico  the  total  cost  per  sheep  is  32  1-2 
cents  and  the  return  53  1-2  cents.  The  net  profit  from  sheep 
raising  in  Montana,  therefore,  is  $1.05  1-2  and  in  New  Mexico 
21  cents.  This  is  a  larger  profit  for  Montana  than  that  in  the 
New  England  States  and  North  Central  States,  and  a  smaller 
profit  for  New  Mexico.  The  general  rule,  in  the  western  sheep 
industry  in  the  North,  is  that  the  breeds  of  sheep  are  better,  and 
that  they  are  tended  more  carefully. 

(116)  Superiority  of  Northern  Sheep 

The  reasons  for  the  superiority  of  the  northern  sheep  in- 
dustry are  that  here  the  sheep  were  introduced  later  and  are 
therefore  of  better  breeds,  and  also  because  southern  herders 
are  mostly  Mexicans,  while  the  northern  herdsmen  are  Amer- 
icans    of     much     greater  intelligence  and  responsibility.     The 
greater  profits  to  be  made  on  sheep  raising  in  Montana  would 
explain  the  growth  of  the  industry  in  that  section  at  the  ex- 
pense of  New  England  and  the  North  Central  States;  in  New 
Mexico  the  profits  are  smaller  than  in  New  England.     The  real 
reason  for  the  change  from  East  to  West,  therefore,  must  be 
sought  in  the  fact  that  the  land  in  the  West  is  of  no  value  for 
anything  but  sheep  raising,  while  the  land  in  the  East  is  of  more 
value  for  other  purposes.     It  is  not  that  sheep  raising  would 
not  be  profitable  in  the  East,  but  that  more  money  can  be  made 
at  other  things,  whereas,  in  the  West,  sheep  and  cattle  herding 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  115 

are  the  only  industries  which  are  profitable  on  the  plains,  and 
they  will  be  pushed  so  long  as  they  are  of  value. 

(117)  Future  of  the  Sheep  Industry 

The  final  question  in  relation  to  the  location  of  our  live- 
stock supply  is  the  probable  future  of  the  sheep  industry  in  the 
United  States. 

There  are  three  reasons  why  the  West  is  not  the  best  place 
for  sheep: 

1.  The  mortality  from  blizzards  is  very  heavy,  sometimes 
amounting  to  50  per  cent. 

2.  Food  is  scanty,  and  therefore  the  wool  is  short,  and  the 
sheep  are  small. 

3.  Frequent  sand  storms  cut  the  wool  and  make  the  fibre 
weak. 

The  Western  country  is  by  no  means  an  ideal  sheep  coun- 
try, but  in  the  upland  region  of  the  South  the  conditions  for 
sheep  and  wool  growing  are  almost  perfect.  Western  North 
Carolina,  western  Tennessee  and  eastern  Kentucky,  with  a 
small  portion  of  \'irginia,  have  a  mild  and  equable  climate  and  a 
soil  which,  though  not  sufficiently  fertile  to  make  agriculture 
especially  profitable,  is  abundantly  able  to  produce  good  for- 
age. The  main  obstacle  to  the  introduction  of  sheep  culture  is 
the  multitude  of  dogs  which  are  kept  by  the  negroes  and  poor 
whites  of  that  upland  region.  All  that  is  needed  to  fit  these 
Southern  uplands  to  be  the  seat  of  a  large  sheep  industry  is  the 
extermination  of  the  cur  dog.  This  naturally  goes  with  the 
civilizing  of  the  dog's  owner  by  the  rapid  industrial  develop- 
ment of  the  South,  and  the  growth  of  towns  and  cities  to  furnish 
a  demand  for  his  labor.  The  sheep  industry,  it  may  thus  be 
seen,  is  in  a  transitional  state.  Started  from  force  of  circum- 
stances in  the  Eastern  part  of  the  country,  it  has  been  shifted 
within  thirty  years  to  the  extreme  West,  and  there  lies  before  it 
another  shift  to  the  upland  region  of  the  South. 

(118)  Shift  of  the  Cattle  Industry 

The  cattle  industry  has  already  passed  through  the  transi- 
tion period,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  larger  development  in 
the    Eastern     States,  influenced  by  conditions  of  proximity  to 


ii6  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

market,  and  a  further  development  in  the  upper  South,  will 
probably  remain  substantially  where  it  is  now  found.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  I  showed  the  present  location  of  this  indus- 
try to  be  principally  in  the  Northwestern  prairie  states  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  to  which  should  be  added  Illinois  and  the  Far 
Western  states  and  territories,  especially  New  Mexico,  Wyom- 
ing, Colorado,  Montana  and  Texas.  It  is  a  mistake,  however, 
to  suppose  that  many  cattle  are  raised  in  the  mountains  proper. 
The  seat  of  the  industry  is  rather  on  the  upland  region  extend- 
ing from  the  97th  meridian  west  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Here,  again,  the  shift  of  the  industry  is  to  be  found  primarily  in 
the  vast  areas  of  free  land  lying  open  to  the  cow  man.  In  1880, 
for  example,  in  Arizona,  the  grazing  area  was  estimated  at  63,- 
374,000  acres,  and  of  this  amount  13,000,000  acres  were  unoc- 
cupied. Similar  areas  were  to  be  found  in  Texas,  Colorado, 
Wyoming,  Montana  and  western  Kansas.  From  1865  to  1885, 
the  stock  men  took  possession  of  this  free  land,  the  principal  in- 
crease coming  from  1880  to  1885,  during  which  period  the  num- 
ber of  cattle  in  the  Western  states  and  territories  increased  from 
2,281,000  to  5,586,000,  being  nearly  tripled  in  five  years. 

(119)  Advantages  for  Growing  Stock  on  Great  Plains 

The  advantages  of  this  great  region  for  growing  stock  are 
pre-eminent.  This  is  the  region  called  the  Great  American 
Desert.  The  rainfall  is  everywhere  less  than  30  inches,  not 
enough  for  farming  in  the  true  sense,  but  sufficient  for  forage 
crops,  of  which  this  region  once  had  abundance.  The  vegeta- 
tion of  this  region,  as  has  been  shown  in  another  place,  is 
abundant  and  well  distributed — although  nowhere  dense  and 
luxuriant — if  we  except  the  scanty  fringes  of  cottonwoods  and 
similar  trees  along  the  streams.  The  plants  of  the  Great  Plains 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes:  (i)  Grasses  and  herbs;  (2) 
shrubs. 

The  grasses  proper  include  a  great  variety  of  species,  the 
most  common  being  the  buffalo  grass,  and  the  bunch  grass,  so 
called  because  it  grows  in  tufts,  or  bunches.  Besides  these, 
there  are  several  varieties  of  clover,  wild  rye,  and  wild  oats,  and 
also  the  alfalfa, which  has  been  largely  cultivated  in  recent  years. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  117 

These  are  mainly  spring  and  early  summer  grasses  which  grad- 
ually dry  up,  although  retaining  most  of  their  nutritious  qual- 
ities, as  the  summer  advances.  The  winter  forage  is  furnished 
by  shrubs  which  are  called  "browse  feed."  The  most  important 
is  the  white  sage  bush,  which  is  found  all  over  the  region.  This 
furnishes  a  store  of  food  when  the  grasses  are  covered  with 
snow.  The  entire  country  is  fairly  well  watered  except  in 
seasons  of  extreme  drought,  when  long  drives  often  have  to 
be  made  to  get  the  water;  and  the  climate,  on  the  whole,  is  fav- 
orable to  cattle,  although  heavy  losses  from  blizzards  are  fre- 
quently sustained.  Altogether,  this  region  may  be  considered 
to  be  as  fine  for  grazing  as  any  in  the  world,  and  it  was  occu- 
pied with  great  rapidity  by  the  cattle  men  during  the  early 
eighties  as  already  indicated.  From  1880  to  1885  the  value  of  a 
beef  steer  increased  from  $17.47  to  $25.54,  or  nearly  50  per  cent. 

(120)  Manner  of  Occupying  Land  SLnd  Handling  Stock 

The  manner  of  occupying  the  land  and  handling  th(?  stock 
was  very  simple.  All  the  land  was  surveyed  and  in  general  be- 
longed to  somebody,  mainly  to  railroad  companies,  or  coun- 
ties; but  for  many  years  the  owners  did  not  appear  to  claim 
their  title,  so  the  stockmen  had  it  their  own  way.  The  method 
of  occupation  was  as  follows:  The  prospective  stock  raiser 
leased  water  rights,  and  selected  a  suitable  range  for  his  cattle, 
having  special  regard  to  the  rights  of  his  predecessors.  In 
early  days  five  to  ten  acres  per  head  was  deemed  sufficient  for 
each  steer.  The  stockman  then  selected  his  brand,  hired  his 
cow-boys,  bought  his  cattle  and  was  ready  for  business.  The 
total  investment  for  a  herd  of  1000  cattle  in  1880  was  $12,350. 
At  the  end  of  five  years,  providing  no  serious  casuaky  had  over- 
taken the  herd,  it  would  number  4812  head,  having  increased 
nearly  five  fold  in  the  five  years.  The  annual  cost  of  holding  a 
herd  of  cattle  in  this  way  was  $1.00  per  head. 

(121)  ImportaLnt  Changes  in  Caltle  Industry  of  Plains 

In  recent  years  important  changes  have  occurred  in  the 
cattle  industry  of  the  plains. 

I.  The  land  is  now  leased  by  the  stockmen — the  days  of 
free  grass  are  over. 


ii8  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

2.  Driving  to  market  has  almost  ceased.  This  has  been 
brought  about  by  the  opposition  of  settlers,  or  "westers''  as 
they  were  called,  to  the  passage  of  the  cattle  over  their  fields, 
and  also  by  the  rapid  increase  of  railway  mileage.  The  stockman 
can  now  send  his  cattle  to  market  by  rail  and  after  the  short 
railway  journey  they  arrive  in  better  condition  than  after  the 
drive. 

The  second  prominent  feature  of  the  cattle  trade  in  recent 
years  has  been  the  development  of  the  business  of  corn  fatten- 
ing for  market  in  the  states  of  the  corn  belt — Iowa,  Nebraska, 
Kansas,  Missouri  and  Illinois.  The  farmers  of  these  states 
either  breed  their  own  cattle,  fattening  and  selling  them  when 
three  years  old,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  and  this  is  more  com- 
mon, they  purchase  grass-fed  steers  ofif  the  western  ranges  in 
the  autumn,  fatten  them  on  corn  during  the  winter,  and  send 
them  to  market  in  the  spring.  This  development  has  become 
especially  important  since  the  rich  forage  of  the  plains,  owing  to 
the  overstocking  of  the  ranges,  has  been  so  much  reduced  in 
quantity  that  cattle  can  no  longer  be  so  easily  fattened  for  mar- 
ket on  the  ranges.  Range  fodder  is  now  barely  sufficient  to 
maintain  a  steer  and  raise  its  weight  to  900  or  1000  pounds. 
These  lean  steers  are  taken  into  the  corn  belt, where  a  winter's 
feeding  of  corn  and  green  fodder  in  a  yard  will  sometimes  add 
600  pounds  to  an  animal's  weight.  This  then  is  the  principal 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  cattle  industry— the  cessa- 
tion of  range  shipping  to  the  consumption  market,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  close  relation  between  the  corn  states  and  the 
grass  states;  the  framework  being  buih  up  on  a  grass  diet,  while 
the  flesh  is  put  on  by  corn  feeding. 

(122)  Distribution  of  Horses  aLi\d  Mules 

The  distribution  of  horses  and  mules  in  the  United  States 
is  shown  by  the  following  table: 

States  &  Territories  Horses  Mules 

Maine 109-747 

New  Hampshire   55-578 

Vermont 84,388 

Massachusetts • 66,017 

Rhode  Island 10,384 

Connecticut 44.1  ^9 

New  York 59077i  3-712 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  119 

States  &  Territories  Horses  Mules 

New  Jersey 79.972  7>^9^ 

Pennsylvania  559.722  37794 

Delaware, 31.192  4.^79 

Maryland,   130.959  12,891 

Virginia    236,279  36.358 

North  Carolina  148,164  1 12,512 

South  Carolina    68,319  98,331 

Georgia  I09,935  i57.oo8 

Florida   38,050  8,521 

Alabama 133.546  132.321 

Mississippi  203,492  164,713 

Louisiana 145,029  92,722 

Texas 1,125,645  260,562 

Arkansas 234,127  142,594 

Tennessee   308,073  139,164 

West  Virginia   150,329  7,264 

Kentucky   350,978  96,958 

Ohio 640,429  16,883 

Michigan 412,462  2,567 

Indiana  577.220  38.734 

Illinois  983.233  78.936 

Wisconsin  418,018  4,611 

Minnesota 459.673  8,248 

Iowa    979-389  31.232 

Missouri 724,597  165,026 

Kansas 732,676  82,586 

Nebraska 658,807  43,876 

South  Dakota  287,839  6,626 

North  Dakota   180,391  6,895 

Montana 146,781  878 

Wyoming 70,813  1,499 

Colorado  145.713  8,580 

New  Mexico    85,184  3,298 

Arizona    52,431  1,031 

Utah    71,710  1,615 

Nevada  42,090  1,338 

Idaho  127,821  889 

Washington 171.391  1,470 

Oregon 183,986  5,441 

California 321 ,729  48,682 

Oklahoma 50,326  9.584 

(123)  Three  Genera.1  Types  of  Horses 

The  three  general  types  of  horses  are:  (i)  The  horse  of  the 

Orient,  the  Arab,  Barb,  or  Turk,  represented    in  the    United 


120  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

States  by  the  thoroughbred  racing  stock  and  by  the  coach  and 
carriage  horse;  (2)  the  heavy  draft  horse,  represented  in  the 
United  States  by  the  Norman,  Clydesdale,  Belgian  and  Perch- 
eron — 'the  breed  having  originated,  it  is  supposed,  in  Eastern 
Europe,  and  (3)  the  pony,  originating  in  the  mountains  of  Cen- 
tral Asia  and  not  largely  represented  in  the  United  States.  The 
number  of  horses  in  the  United  States  has  suffered  a  marked 
reduction  in  recent  years.  The  largest  number  ever  reached 
was  in  1893  When  16,206,802  horses  were  reported.  Since  that 
time  the  number  has  steadily  declined  until  in  1900,  13,537,524 
were  reported.  This  decrease  has  been  mainly  owing  to  the  gen- 
eral introduction  of  electricity  into  street  railway  service,  and, 
to  a  small  extent,  to  the  use  of  the  bicycle.  For  agricultural 
purposes,  however,  the  horse  is  in  as  much  demand  as  ever,  and 
the  recent  wars  have  so  increased  the  demand  for  all  kinds  of 
draft  stock  that  the  average  price  of  horses  has  nearly  doubled 
within  three  years.  There  is  no  reason  to  fear  any  present  re- 
duction in  the  number  of  horses. 

(124)  The  Mule 

The  mule  is  a  cross  between  the  horse  and  the  ass.  It  is 
much  more  enduring  and  longer  lived  than  the  horse,  and  has 
a  greater  capacity  for  hard  work.  The  mule  was  first  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States  from  Spain,  and  this  accounts  for 
the  large  number  of  mules  reported  from  California.  This  an- 
imal has  been  employed  in  the  South  chiefly  because  the  negro 
does  not  understand  handling  stock  and  cannot  be  trusted  with 
horses.  The  number  of  mules  has  not  been  seriously  reduced 
by  the  change  to  electric  traction. 

(125)  Swine  Industry 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  swine  in  the 
United  States  on  January  ist,  1899,  in  the  states  of  large  pro- 
duction, i.  e.,  containing  more  than  100,000  swine. 

■State.  ~  Number. 

New  York 645,237 

New  Jersey 151. 120 

Pennsvlvania   i  '043'33 1 

Delaware  50'556 

Maryland 331.853 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  121 

State.  Number. 

Virginia  9'^76S^ 

North  Carolina    1,369,703 

South  CaroHna 1,041,462 

Georgia   2,093,987 

Florida    429,128 

Alabama  1,866,640 

Mississippi   ^-957.399 

Louisiana   796,498 

Texas  2,684,987 

Arkansas  i  ,280, 1 20 

Tennessee    1.570,154 

West  Virginia 331,563 

Kentucky   1,357,765 

Ohio 3.307,05 1 

Michigan 735,035 

Indiana   i  .340,23 1 

Illinois    2,008,265 

Wisconsin    929,763 

Minnesota  41 1, 353 

Iowa 3,408,281 

Missouri   2,949,818 

Kansas    1,591,341 

Nebraska 1.353,671 

South  Dakota 145,469 

North  Dakota    in ,959 

Washington  1 56.748 

Oregon  216.430 

California   374,141 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  hog  crop  of  the  United  States 
is  concentrated  in  two  districts:  (i)  The  Southern  States,  and 
(2)  the  states  of  the  corn  belt.  The  large  number  of  hogs  in 
the  Eastern  States  is  partially  explained  by  their  use  as  garbage 
disposers  near  the  gieat  cities.  The  Southern  hog  is  a  heritage 
from  slavery,  pork  and  corn  meal  being  the  food  of  the  slave. 
The  Southern  hog  is  of  no  particular  breed,  and  runs  wild 
through  the  year,  picking  up  his  food  in  the  woods.  They  still 
furnish  the  chief  food  of  the  Southern  people.  In  the  corn  belt, 
on  the  other  hand,  hogs  are  but  another  form  of  corn,  furnish- 
ing a  better  method  of  marketing  the  corn  crop.  They  have 
been  very  carefully  bred  and  the  stock  has  steadily  improved. 
The  two  breeds  most  widely  represented  are  the  Poland-China 
and  the  Berkshire.     Most  of  the  hogs  raised  in  the  corn  belt  are 


122  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

sent  to  market.  The  principal  markets  and  the  number  of  hogs 
packed  at  each  market  in  1897-8  and  1870-71  are  shown  by  the 
foJlowing  table : 

City.  1897-98  1870-71 

Chicago  2,672,730  918,087 

Cincinnati 276,420  500,066 

St.  Louis 526,440  305,600 

Milwaukee   508,074  241,000 

Louisville   177,268  242,135 

Indianapolis 428,462  105,000 

Kansas  City 1,305,131  36,200 

Omaha 550.175 

(126)  Change  in  Location  of  Hog  Industry 

We  see  here  the  same  change  Which  the  cattle  industry  has 
experienced — the  growth  in  importance  of  the  Western  packing 
centers  as  the  Western  farmers  discover  the  economy  of  con- 
verting the  corn  into  pork  and  beef  and  selling  it  in  the  nearby 
market.  The  number  of  hogs  in  the  United  States  is  steadily 
decreasing.  In  1892,  the  year  when  the  largest  number  was 
reported,  the  figure  was  52,398,019  and  in  1899,  38,651,631. 
The  decrease  is  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  ravages  of  hog 
ch'o'Iera;  in  part  by  the  rapid  introduction  of  cotton  seed  pro- 
ducts as  substitutes  for  lard,  and  in  part  also  to  the  change  in 
popular  taste  from  pork  to  beef  and  mutton. 

(127)  Poultry  Industry 

No  annual  record  is  kept  of  the  value  of  the  poultry  and 
egg  product  of  the  United  States.  The  census  of  1890  showed 
that  the  product  in  this  industry  was  as  follows: 

Chickens 258,871,125 

Turkeys 10,754,060 

Geese   8,440,175 

Ducks 7,544,080 

Dozens  of  Eggs  Produced   819,722,916 

Poultry  farming  springs  up  in  the  neighborhood  of  manu- 
facturing populations.  At  present  it  is  perhaps  the  most  profit- 
able form  of  agriculture  where  it  is  carried  on  as  a  regular  bus- 
iness.    The  best  breeds  of  poultry,  where  the  production  of  eggs 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  123 

is  the  object,  are  the  Leghorns,  Minorcas,  Wyandottes,  Ply- 
mouth Rocks,  Brahnias  and  Langshans.  The  best  breeds  for 
market  are  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  Light  Brahmas,  Cochins,  and 
Langshans.  Turkeys,  guinea  fowls,  geese  and  ducks  are  also 
raised,  although  the  two  latter  are  much  less  popular  in  this 
country  than  in  Europe. 

The  Fisheries  Industry 

(128')  The  Value  of  the  Fisheries  Industry  in  the  United  States 

The  total  value  of  the  product  of  the  fisheries  industry  in 
the  United  States  at  the  date  of  the  last  census  (1890)  was  $43,- 
128,265,  divided  among  the  different  sections  as  follows: 

New  England  States $8,133,600 

Middle  Atlantic  States 10,550,640 

Southern  Atlantic  States    1 1,601,760 

Gulf  States   2,438,675 

Pacific  States   6,387,805 

Great  Lakes  2,61 5,785 

Other  inland  states 1,400,000 

The  principal  fish  and  the  value  of  the  catch  of  each  kind, 
with  the  locality  of  principal  occurrence  were  as  follows  in  1899: 
Sturgeons — Flesh  used  for  caviare     and     exported; 
swimming     bladders     made     into     isinglass; 
heads,  skins  and  refuse.     Found  in  Delaware 
River  and  the  Great  Lakes.     Value  of  catch      $231,780 

Catfish — Caught  -with  other  fish  on  Lakes   61,017 

Shad — Atlantic  Coast,  Mississippi  River 505,281 

Sea  Herring — North  Atlantic  Coast — Maine  to  Lab- 
rador; salted  and  used  to  make  sardines  ....        279,297 
Menhaden  or  Porgy — Atlantic  Coast.     Connecticut, 
Rhode    Island,     New  York.     Used  mainly  in 
manufacture  of  oil  and  fish  guano  fertilizer  .  .     2,393,629 

Salmon — Northwest  Coast ;  canned 3»737.956 

Smelt — Maine  rivers   74.977 

Whitefish — Great  Lakes    691,563 

Eels — Atlantic  Coast  lagoons    223,323 

Mackerel — Atlantic  Coast;  mainly  salted   731,424 

Bluefish — Atlantic  coast,  especiallv  New  Jersey  and 

New  York   ' 664,862 

Cod — North  Pacific  and  North  .Atlantic;  especially 

ofif  the  coast  of  Newfoundland 2,760,000 

Halibut — Niorth  Atlantic  and  North  Pacific 723,002 

8 


124  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

In  addition  to  these,  which  may  be  considered  as  true  fishes, 
there  should  be  mentioned  the  shell  fish,  which  abound  along 
both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Coasts.  The  most  important  of 
these  are  oysters,  clams,  lobsters  and  crabs.  The  United  States 
gkDvernment  and  rnost  of  the  states  recognize  the  great  import- 
ance of  the  fish  industry  and  guard  against  the  exhaustion  of 
the  supply,  by  placing  in  different  localities  millions  of  young 
fish,  which  are  hatched  at  the  stations  of  the  various  commis- 
sions and  protected  from  injury  during  growth.  Many  new 
species  of  fish  also  have  been  introduced  by  the  commissions. 

The  Dairy  Industry 

(129)  Development  of  the  D2Liry  livdustry  in  the  United  Sta^tes 

In  the  year  1899  the  value  of  the  dairy  products   of  the 

United  States  was  as  follp.ws: 

Cows.  Products.  Total  Value. 

11,000,000.     Butter 1,430,000,000  lbs,         $257,400,000 

Cheese  ......        300,000,000  lbs.  27,000,000 

Milk .....     2,090,000,000  gal.  167,200,000 


$451,600,000 


(130)   Location  of  Da-iry  Industry 

Iowa  is  the  most  important  dairy  state.  New  York  is  sec- 
ond. Illinois  and  Pennsylvania  are  next  in  rank;  and  Wiscon- 
sin, Ohio,  Kansas,  Missouri,  Minnesota,  Nebraska  and  Indiana 
form  a  fourth  group.  The  dairy  industry  can  be  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully in  every  part  of  the  country.  The  development  of  the 
industry  has  been  greatly  facilitated  by  the  central  butter  and 
cheese  factory,  which  applies  advanced  methods  to  the  manufac- 
ture ot  these  products;  by  the  steady  improvement  in  the  breeds 
of  dairy^  cattle,  and  by  establishing  centers  of  population  which 
furnish  a  large  market;  arid  the  growth  of  systems  of  rapid 
transit,  which  enable  the  products  of  large  areas  to  be  collected 
at  these  markets.  .  The  dairy  industry,  at  the  present  time,  how- 
ever, produces  only  one-third  of  the  butter  of  the  United  States, 
■and' much  education  of  farmers  will  be  necessary  before  they  can 
be  brought  to  see  the  advantages  of  the  factory  system  of  butter 
production. 


BUTTKR    MAKIXi;— THE   OLD   WAY.  ^ 

if  H.  E.  Alvord,  Chief  Dairy  Division,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


BUTTER    MAK1N(;— THE  NEW   WAY. 
BycourttsyofH.  E  Alvord,  Chief  Dniry  Division,  U.  S.  De/t.  of  Agriculture. 


OF 

SM  IFOH 


vi^i^ 


SECTION  3 
AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  (Continued) 

Cotton 

(131)    Fibres  and  New  Products 

We  have  now  to  study,  as  the  most  prominent  product  of 
Southern  agriculture,  the  culture  of  cotton.  The  value  of  the 
cotton  crop  in  1899  was  $334,847,868.  Cotton,  moreover,  is  the 
largest  single  item  in  our  export  trade.  In  the  same  year,  1899, 
out  of  a  total  value  of  domestic  exports  from  the  United  States 
of  $1,203,931,222  the  single  item  of  raw  cotton  made  up  $241,- 
832,737.  This  plant  has  always  been  the  leading  crop  of  the 
South,  and  its  importance  demands  careful  study. 

(152)   What  Cotton   Is 

Cotton  is  a  vegetable  hair  or  fibre  that  grows  upon  a  shrub 
from  3  to  4  feet  high  in  the  upland  variety,  and  6  to  8  feet  high 
in  sea  island  cotton.  The  bolls,  which  contain  the  seed  of  the 
'  plant,  spring  directly  from  the  stem,  one  shrub  often  containing 
forty  or  more.  The  fibre  is  produced  as  a  sort  of  envelope  or 
covering  for  the  seeds,  and  when  the  seeds  are  ripe,  the  boll 
splits  open,  and  the  fluffy  mass  of  fibre,  wrapped  more  or  less 
tightly  about  the  seeds,  protrudes  and  can  be  easily  pulled  out. 

(133)  Structure  of  Cotton  Fibre 

Under  a  microscope,  a  cotton  fibre  appears  as  an  irregular, 
flattened  and  somewhat  twisted  tube.  The  edges  of  the  fibre 
are  thickened  and  slightly  corrugated.  This  hollow  tubular 
structure  is  preserved  for  about  three-fourths  of  the  length  of 
the  fibre,when  it  tapers  to  a  point  which  is  perfectly  cylindrical 
and  often  solid.  Tlie  length  of  the  staple  of  upland  cotton 
ranges  from  .8  inch  to  1.06  inch;  that  of  sea  island  from  1.41  to 
1. 81.     The  diameter  decreases  as  the  length  increases. 

(127) 


AM'ERICAN  INDUSTRIES  129 

(134)  Production  of  Cotton 

Cotton  production  in  the  United  States  is  limited  to  that 
portion  of  the  country  which  lies  south  of  latitude  37  north.  As 
a  general  rule,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  specially  favored  lo- 
calities, its  production  does  not  extend  north  of  North  Carolina. 
As  you  may  see  from  the  map  of  the  cotton  belt  which  appears 
upon  the  opposite  page,  its  area  is  very  well  defined  and  strictly 
circumscribed.  The  crop  produced  in  1898  was  divided  among 
the  different  states  as  follows: 

States.  Bales. 

Alabama  1,176,000 

Arkansas   919,000 

Florida 35,ooo 

Georgia    i  ,378,000 

Louisiana   717,000 

Mississippi    i  ,247,000 

North  Carolina  629,000 

South   Carolina    1,035,000    ■ 

Tennessee    322,000 

Texas  3,363,000 

It  may  thus  be  seen  that  8-1 1  or  "jyjo  of  the  crop  was  pro- 
duced in  the  states  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Alississippi,  South  Car- 
olina and  Texas;  Texas  alone  having  30%  of  the  entire  crop. 

The  average  yield  of  lint  cotton  per  acre  in  each  state  is  as 
follows,  taking  an  average  of  seventeen  years: 

States.  Pounds. 

Alabama  146 

Arkansas   244 

Georgia    .  .  .' 155 

Louisiana 249 

Mississippi    192 

North  Carolina   178 

South  Carolina 162 

Tennessee 172 

Texas  229 


130  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

(135)  Cotton  L&nds 

The  best  cotton  lands  are  found  in  Texas,  Louisiana,  Ar- 
kansas and  Mississippi,  in  the  flat  country,  and  especially  along 
the  rivers  in  the  alluvial  lands.  The  density  of  production  is 
represented  by  shading  upon  the  map.  Florida  is  admirably 
suited  for  the  cultivation  o.f  cotton,  but  the  largest  part  of  its 
area  is  still  undrained.  The  mountainous  region  which  runs 
down  through  eastern  Tennessee  and  western  North  Carolina 
into  northern  Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  the  sandy  plains  of 
southern  Georgia  and  Alabama  and  northern  Florida  are  not 
well  suited  to  the  culture  of  cotton. 

(136)  Temperature  Required  for  Best  Development 

Cotton  is  a  plant  which  thrives  in  a  very  warm  or  even  a 
hot  atmosphere,  providing  the  atmosphere  is  moist.  For  its 
best  development,  the  temperature  should  be  high  and  the  daily 
range  of  temperature  uniform  during  the  early  growing  period 
of  f^e  plant.  Any  sudden  change  in  temperature  during  this 
period  will  arrest  the  growth  and  cause  the  plant  to  ripen  too 
soon.  The  period  of  growth,  from  seeding  to  flowering,  ranges 
from  8o  to  no  days,  according  to  variety.  During  the  ripening 
period,  after  the  plant  has  stored  up  all  the  food  material  that 
it  needs,  the  most  favorable  condition  is  a  decreasing  tempera- 
ture and  a  greater  range  of  temperature  between  day  and  night; 
for  this  checks  the  vegetative  growth  of  the  plant  and  causes  it 
to  convert  its  accumulated  food  material  into  fruit,  or,  rather, 
cotton.  The  time  required  for  ripening  is  from  70  to  80  days. 
The  rainfall,  in  order  to  secure  the  best  results,  should  be  heav- 
iest during  the  season  of  growth,  and  should  decrease  during  the 
season  of  ripening.  It  is  important  also,  that  the  rain  should 
fall  at  night  and  that  the  days  should  be  sunny.  Since  the 
growing  period  is  very  long,  from  5  to  6  1-2  months,  a  most  im- 
portant consideration  is  the  date  of  the  last  killing  frost  in  the 
spring  and  the  first  in  the  fall.  The  cotton  p'lant  is  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  frost.  All  the  conditions  favorable  to  cotton 
growth  are  well  fulfilled  in  the  South. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  133 

(137)  Temperature  of  the  Cotton  States 

The  mean  temperature  of  the  year  is  about  15  degrees 
higher  in  South  Carohna,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
than  in  Massachusetts,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  During 
the  winter,  the  mean  temperature  is  about  20  degrees  warmer 
at  the  South,  and  during  the  summer  about  10  degrees  warmer. 
The  daily  range  of  temperature  is  about  the  same  in  both  sec- 
tions, but  is  slightly  less  in  the  South  during  the  summer,  giving 
more  uniform  conditions  of  growth,  and  is  somewhat  greater 
in  the  South  during  the  months  of  October  and  November,  the 
ripening  period  of  the  cotton  crop.  The  date  of  the  last  killing 
frost  in  the  northern  part  of  the  cotton  belt  averages  about 
March  25th,  and  in  the  southern  part  about  February  15th. 
The  date  of  the  first  killing  frost  for  the  whole  belt,  averages 
about  November  15th.  This  gives  ample  time  for  the  crop  to 
mature. 

(138)  Rainfall  in  the  Cotton  States 

The  mean  annual  rainfall  for  the  Northern  States  is  about 
40  inches,  and  in  the  South  about  56-57  inches.  The  rainfall  in 
both  sections  generally  increases  from  the  winter,  reaches  a 
maximum  about  the  middle  of  summer,  and  falls  ofif  during  the 
autumn.  These  are  the  ideal  conditions  for  the  culture  of  cot- 
ton. Although  the  rainfall  is  abundant  in  this  section,  a  great 
deal  falls  at  night  so  that  the  number  of  clear  days  is  large.  In 
the  month  of  May,  for  example,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  cot- 
ton belt,  in  the  years  1889-91,  the  number  of  clear  days  ranged 
from  13-15,  with  a  rainfall  of  2.3  to  4  inches;  in  the  middle  belt 
in  '90,  rainfall  nearly  6  inches,  with  12  clear  days;  in  the  south- 
ern belt  in  the  same  year  the  rainfall  was  4.2  inches  and  number 
of  clear  days,  twelve. 

Flax  and  Hemp 

(139)  Flax  and  Hemp 

These  are  plants  yielding  tough,  strong  filaments  of  fibres. 
The  fibres  of  fiax  are  much  finer  than  those  yielded  by  the  hemp 
plant  and  are  used  to  make  linen,  while  the  hemp  fibres  are 


134 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 


used  to  make  ropes  and  twine.  Flax  requires  only  a  short  sea- 
son for  its  development  and  grows  best  in  northerly  latitudes. 
In  the  United  States,  the  principal  flax  producing  states  are 
Minnesota,  Iowa,  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas  and  Mis- 
souri. The  preparation  of  the  flax  fibre  requires  a  large  amount 
of  hand  labor  and  a  considerable  degree  of  dexterity.  Owing 
to  this  fact,  the  industry  has  largely  remained  in  Europe  on  ac- 
count of  the  relative  cheapness  of  labor.  The  hemp  plant,  al- 
though closely  allied  to  flax,  seems  to  thrive  best  in  a  hot  clim- 
ate. The  domestic  supply  has  never  been  equal  to  our  home 
demand.  Most  of  the  domestic  supply  is  produced  in  Ken- 
tucky. Various  substitutes  for  hemp  have  been  introduced  into 
the  United  States,  especially  into  Florida,  with  some  measure  of 
success.  Some  of  these  are  ramie,  sisal  grass  and  pineapple 
bark. 


Tobacco 

(140)  Tobacco 

Tobacco  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  American  agricult- 
ural products.  The  total  yield  of  the  United  States  in  1896  was 
valued  at  $24,258,070.  The  United  States  produces  more  to- 
bacco than  any  other  country.  The  following  table  gives  the 
yield  of  tobacco  by  states  for  1896: 

State.  Pounds.  Acres. 

Arkansas  1,327,500  2,950 

Connecticut    10,197,450  6,579 

Illinois   2,497,280  3,902 

Indiana   8,130,760  1 1,957 

Kentucky 143,623,850  196,745 

Maryland 9,277,100  i5»995 

Massachusetts   3,199,500  1,975 

Missouri 7,406,000  10,580 

New  York  3,389,360  3,259 

North  Carolina 68,629,170  134-567 

Ohio 23,688,880  32,012 

Pennsylvania   16,244,280  13,884 

Tennessee    35,211,660  53,351 

Virginia  57,96t  ,260  92,002 

West  Virginia 3,685,680  5, 119 

Wisconsin   5,088,000  3,975 


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136  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

(141)  Tobacco  States 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table,  that  the  list  of  tobacco  states 
includes  widely  separated  portions  of  the  Union.  The  Connec- 
ticut valley  is  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  supply,  and 
in  the  South,  North  Carolina  is  a  large  producer.  The  climatic 
range  of  the  tobacco  plant  is  almost  as  great  as  that  of  Indian 
corn,  but  the  danger  from  frost  is  serious.  The  plant  requires  a 
warm,  moist,  and  well-drained  soil  with  an  abundance  of  plant 
food.  Large  quantities  of  the  mineral  substances  which  form 
the  food  plants  are  found  in  the  broad  leaves  of  the  tobacco 
plant.  For  this  reason,  tobacco  culture  is  perhaps  more  injur- 
ious to  the  soil,  and  exhausts  its  fertility  more  rapidly  than  the 
cultivation  of  any  other  plant.  It  is,  therefore,  customary  to 
produce  tobacco  only  on  "new"  ground,  immediately  after  clear- 
ing, changing  to  other  crops  after  one  or  two  crops  of  tobacco. 
Unless  this  method  is  followed,  a  large  expenditure  for  mineral 
fertilizers  is  necessary.  A  crop  of  tobacco  requires  very  careful 
tending,  and  is  much  exposed  to  damage  from  insects. 


Sugar 

(142)  Sugar 

The  United  States  is  as  yet  almost  entirely  dependent  on 
foreign  countries  for  its  sugar.  In  1899,  the  amount  of  the 
sugar  imported  into  the  United  States  was  2,219,847  tons,  of 
which  1,950,014  tons  were  imported  and  269,833  tons  were  lo- 
cally produced.  The  imports,  therefore,  were  almost  nine  times 
as  great  as  the  domestic  production. 

Sugar  is  contained  in  almost  all  plants  at  some  period  oi 
their  growth.  For  example,  Indian  corn,  before  the  kernels 
begin  to  harden,  is  very  rich  in  sugar.  From  but  few  of  these 
plants,  however,  can  sugar  be  extracted  on  a  commercial  scale. 
The  plants  from  which  sugar  is  derived  are  the  sugar  cane,  a 
plant  closely  alHed  to  Indian  corn,  and  generally  resembling  it; 
the  sugar  beet,  whose  juices  contain  a  large  percentage  of 
sugar;  the  sugar  maple,  and  the  sorghum  cane,  a  northern  va- 
riety of  the  sugar  cane.     Sugar  is  extracted  from  these  plants 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  137 

when  ripe  by  crushing  out  or  diffusing  out  their  juice,  boiling 
the  juice  and  allowing  the  sugar  to  crystallize  and  sink  to  the 
bottom  of  the  boiling-pan.  The  method  of  extraction  does  not 
differ  essentially  in  the  treatment  of  any  of  these  four  sugar  pro- 
ducing plants.  In  the  United  States  the  amount  produced  from 
these  various  sources  in  1900  is  shown  by  the  following  table: 

Total  Domestic  Product  to  269,833  tons. 

Produced  from  imported  molasses 7>647  tons. 

■      "             "             "           cane I74450      " 

"             "             "           maple   5,ooo      " 

"       •      "             "          beet   82,736      " 

(143)  Cane  Su^ar 

Cane  sugar  on  a  large  scale  is  exclusively  produced  in  jl 
Louisiana.  Sugar  cane  culture  demands  a  warm,  moist  climate, 
with  a  very  long  growing  season.  Southern  Florida  and  south- 
eastern Georgia  are  also  believed  to  satisfy  these  conditions,  but 
as  yet  cane  culture  on  a  large  scale  has  not  succeeded  in  these 
localities.  The  production  of  beet  sugar  has  been  rapidly  ex- 
tending. In  1887,  the  output  of  beet  sugar  was  only  255  tons, 
from  which  small  amount  it  has  increased  in  fourteen  years 
to  82,376  tons,  -and  is  still  rapidly  extending.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  the  United  States  will  in  time  produce  all  the  sugar  used  by 
her  people.  Sugar  beets  can  be  grown  in  every  part  of  the 
Northern  States  and  throughout  the  West.  The. principal  pro- 
ducers are  California,  Nebraska,  Uta'h  and  Michigan,  Michi- 
gan has  increased  her  output  from  nothing  in  1897  to  14,699 
tons  in  1899.  The  production  of  maple  sugar  is  largely  con- 
fined to  Vermont.  No  sorghum  sugar  is  reported  as  being  pro- 
duced. Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  the 
sorghum  sugar  industry,  but  so  far  these  have  been  unsuccessful. 

Fruits  and  Nuts 

(144)  Fruits  of  North  America 

The  fruits  of  North  America  may  be  divided  into  the  fruits 
of  the  temperate  zone,  and  those  of  the  sub-tropical  zone. 
The    first    group    includes  apples,  peaches,  cherries,  currants. 


138  ~       AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

pears,  plums,  grapes  and  several  varieties  of  berries  and  melons 
as  its  representatives;  while  of  the  sub-tropical  fruits,  oranges, 
lemons,  apricots,  pomegranates,  figs,  dates,  limes,  bananas,  pine- 
apples and  olives.  A  brief  description  of  the  locality  of  the 
principal  fruits  is  all  that  can  be  given. 

(145)  Apple 

The  apple  is  the  principal  American  fruit.  It  is  grown  all 
over  North  America.  The  leading  districts  for  apple  culture 
are  the  Middle  and  Southern  New  England  States;  the  middle 
altitudes  of  the  Alleghenies  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas;  Mis- 
souri, eastern  Kansas,  and  northwestern  Arkansas;  Oregon  and 
Washington. 

(146)  Peach 

Peaches  require  for  their  best  development  warm  and 
bright  weather.  This  fruit  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  frost  and 
does  not  grow  well  in  a  moist  or  cool  climate.  The  principal 
locations  of  the  peach  industry  in  the  United  States  are  along 
the  southern  shores  of  the  lower  lakes,  in  lower  Michigan  and 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  south  of  Long  Island  Sound.  Peaches 
are  also  produced  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
souri River  regions. 

(147)  Pear  and  Plum.  etc. 

The  pear  and  plum  are  well  distributed  over  the  whole  area 
of  temperate  North  America.  The  best  varieties  are  produced 
in  the  New  England  States.  The  principal  varieties  of  berries 
require  a  sandy  soil  and  a  warm  climate.  The  southern  part  of 
the  lake  region  and  the  seaboard  areas  of  the  South  Atlantic 
States  afford  the  most  favorable  conditions,  although  all  kinds 
are  well  distributed.  Melons  thrive  under  the  same  conditions 
as  berries.  The  best  watermelons  come  from  the  Southern 
States.  Grape  culture  in  the  Eastern  States  is  largely  confined 
to  the  southern  shores  of  the  Lakes,  where  a  sandy  soil  and  a 
warm  climate  ensure  the  best  results. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  139 

(148)  Sub-tropicsLl  Fruits 

The  culture  of  sub-tropical  fruits  is  carried  on  in  Florida, 
Louisiana  and  California.  Each  of  the  fruits  mentioned  above 
is  grown  on  some  scale  in  some  of  these  states,  but  only  oranges 
and  apricots  are  produced  in  large  quantities  at  present.  The 
culture  of  other  sub-tropical  fruits  is,  however,  steadily  expand- 
ing, especially  the  culture  of  olives,  dates  and  lemons.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  the  greater  part  of  our  domestic  consumption 
of  these  fruits  will  eventually  be  home  grown. 


Nuts 

1,149)  Nut  Industry  Iivthe  United  St&tes 

The  nut  industry  in  the  United  States  has  been  until  re- 
cently entirely  supported  by  the  native  forests.  The  walnut,  fil- 
bert, hickory  nut  and  chestnut  are  sent  to  market,  in  large 
quantities,  all  over  the  North.  In  the  South  pecans  and  pea- 
nuts are  also  marketed,  the  latter  being  cultivated.  In  recent 
years  many  nut  bearing  trees  have  been  introduced  from  foreign 
countries.  Among  these  are  the  almond,  Brazil  nuts,  and  co- 
coanuts.  Trees  have  been  introduced  into  California  and  are 
there  cultivated,  although  the  product  is  as  yet  small. 


Lumber 

(150)  Timber 

Upon  the  following  page  appears  the  original  forest  map  of 
the  United  States.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  for  more  than  one 
hundred  years  the  work  of  deforestration  has  been  proceeding, 
with  exception  of  portions  of  the  prairie  region  and  of  the  re- 
gion west  of  the  looth  meridian  to  the  coast  ranges,  much  of 
this  area  is  well  wooded.  In  1896,  the  forest  area  of  the  United 
States  was  estimated  at  500,000,000  acres.  The  amount  of 
standing  timber  in  the  different  sections  in  1896  was  as  follow.^: 


AMl':klC.-\N  INDUSTRIES  141 

Section.  No.  Ft.  Boards  ]^Icas. 

South-western  States  700,000,000,000 

North-western  States   500,000,000,000 

Pacific  States  1,000,000,000,000 

Rocky  Mountain  States   1,000,000,000,000 


Total 


^151)  Va.rie<ies  of  Timber 


3,200,000,000,000 


The  timber  of  the  United  States  is  not  only  present  in  great 
abundance  but  also  in  numerous  varieties.  In  the  Southern 
States,  are  found  large  forests  of  yellow  pine.  In  the  low 
grounds  of  this  section,  the  cypress  is  found  in  great  abundance. 
The  palmetto,  magnolia,  tulip  and  swamp  oak  are  also  met  with. 
Farther  north,  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  and  in  the  highlands 
of  the  middle  South,  are  large  forests  of  hardwood  timber — oak, 
hickory,  ash,  walnut  and  cherry.  Poplar  and  sycamore  timber 
are  also  found  in  this  section.  The  region  bordering  on  the 
Ohio  River  is  even  more  remai^kable  for  its  timber.  This  in- 
cludes all  the  principal  hardwoods  above  mentioned.  In  West 
Virginia,  in  1896,  it  was  estimated  that  only  25  per  cent,  of  the 
timber  had  been  cut.  By  the  census  of  1890,  it  was  estimated 
that  2  1-2  billion  feet  of  poplar  timber  alone  was  standing  in  the 
valley  of  the  Cheat  River  and  its  tributaries.  In  the  northern 
part  of  the  United  States  there  are  two  belts,  the  lower  of  hard- 
woods, and  the  upper,  including  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and 
northern  New  England,  of  white  pine,  spruce  and  hemlock. 
The  western  part  of  this  area  has  been  almost  entirely  cut  over, 
but  in  northern  Maine  large  quantities  of  timber  are  still  stand- 
ing. 

The  forests  of  the  west  coast  have  been  already  described. 
(Sec  page  .^6.)  Although  the  United  States  has  such  a  large 
amount  of  timber  still  standing,  the  supply  is  rapidly  being  ex- 
hausted. The  chief  seat  of  the  lumber  industry  twenty  years 
ago  was  in  the  region  about  the  upper  lakes.  The  supply  of 
white  pine  in  this  region  has  now  been  almost  exhausted,  and 
the  industry  has  changed  its  location  to  the  South.  It  is  now^,- 
chiefly  carried  on  in  the  upland  region  of  the  South,  in  the 
Ohio  River  region,  in  northern  Maine,whcre  the  paper  industry 


t42  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

consumes  great  quantities  of  spruce  and  hemlock  timber,  and  on 
the  west  coast.  More  recently,  the  lumber  industry  has  sprung 
up  in  the  swamp  lands  of  the  Southern  States,  and  in  the  Coastal 
Plain.  Yellow  pine  and  cypress  timber  are  now  important 
Southern  products.  The  annual  cut  of  timber  in  this  country  is 
estimated  at  about  40,000,000,000  feet  and  is  steadily  increasing 
every  year.  It  is  feared  that  at  the  present  rate  of  increase  the 
supply  will  not  last  more  than  a  half  century.  The  question  of 
the  forest  is,  therefore,  becoming  one  of  serious  interest. 

(152)  Deforestration  of  the  Soil 

The  deforestration  of  the  soil  is  a  source  of  great  injury  to 
agriculture.  A  general  forest  distribution,  not  so  much  in  ab- 
solute area  as  in  the  number  and  location  of  standing  timber,  is 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  farmer.  It  reduces  the  soil  tem- 
perature in  the  summer,  and  raises  it  in  the  winter.  It  increases 
the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  from  3  1-2  to  10  per  cent.  It 
increases  the  rainfall.  Abundance  of  trees  prevents  rapid  evap- 
oration of  water  from  the  soil,  and  thus  supplies  the  roots  of 
growing  plants  with  sufficient  moisture.  According  to  one  ob- 
server, the  available  moisture  is  increased  46  per  cent,  by  proper 
forestfation.  The  roots  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  form  a 
thick,  spongy  covering  for  the  soil,  and  the  leaves  break  the 
fall  of  the  rain,  so  that  the  water  descends  gradually,  and  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  soil-covering  instead  of  being  allowed  to  run  off 
quickly,  washing  the  soil  of  the  hillsides  down  into  the  streams 
and  so  impairing  the  fertility  of  the  land. 

(153)  Importance  of  the  Forest,  and  Danger  of  its  Destruction 

The  moisture  resulting  from  the  melting  of  snow  is  retained 
by  forests  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  violence  of  floods  is, 
therefore,  lessened.  The  importance  of  the  jorest,  and  the  dan- 
ger of  its  destruction  has,  in  recent  years,  attracted  much  atten- 
tion in  the  United  States,  and  both  state  and  national  author- 
ities have  taken  up  the  question  of  forestration.  Large  forest 
reserves  have  been  established  on  the  public  lands,  within  which 
no  timber  may  be  cut  except  by  permission.  Individual  states 
have  pursued  the  same  policy  with  their  public  lands ;  and  it  has 
been  proposed  in  some  states  that  large  purchases  of  forest 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  143 

land  should  be  made,  since  it  is  evident  that  the  revenue  derived 
from  the  judicious  cutting  of  the  timber  would  pay  the  interest 
on  the  purchase  price.  Some  European  countries  extend  their 
supervision  to  the  lands  of  private  owners,  and  require  that,  as 
trees  are  felled,  others  shall  be  planted.  We  are  still  a  long  way 
from  such  a  drastic  policy  in  the  United  States,  but  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  rapid  increase  of  knowledge  among  the  farmers 
upon  the  subject  of  forestry,  will  check  the  denudation  of  the 
land  without  the  necessity  of  intervention  by  public  authority 
to  stop  the  destruction  of  the  forests. 


India  Rubber 

(154)  Production  and  Manufacture  of  IndiaL  Rubber 

India  rubber  is  the  coagulated  juice  of  certain  trees  and 
plants.  It  is  abundant  in  the  juice  of  milkweed.  The  chief 
sources  of  supply  are  in  Brazil,  Central  America,  Mexico,  Java, 
Penang,  Singapore,  Assam  and  Natal.  The  method  of  produc- 
tion of  the  crude  rubber  is  as  follows:  The  trees  are  tapped,  and 
the  juice  collected  in  earthen  or  wicker  moulds  in  which  it  is 
afterwards  dried  over  a  fire.  It  is  prepared  for  use  in  manufac- 
tures by  mixing  with  the  crude  rubber,  when  in  a  melted  con- 
dition, a  small  amount  of  sulphur  and  magnesia  or  other  metals, 
and  exposing  the  mixture  to  a  high  temperature  after  it  has 
been  run  or  rolled  into  the  form  desired. 

(155)  Imported  NaLteriak-Is 

I  The  United  States  includes  such  a  vast  range  of  climate  and 

soil,  that  it  is  capable,  when  the  resources  of  the  country  have 
been  fully  developed,  of  producing  nearly  every  material  re- 
quired by  the  American  people.  At  present,  however,  a  large 
number  of  these  materials  are  obtained,  in  whole  or  in  part,  from 
foreign  countries.  The  most  important  of  these  materials 
which  were  imported  in  1900,  classified  according  as  they  belong 
to  the  vegetable,  animal  or  mineral  kingdoms,  together  with  the 
values  of  the  several  quantities,  are  presented  in  the  following 
table: 

9 


144 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 
I.  Vegetable  Kingdom. 


Name. 

Val 

lie  Imported 

Breadstuffs 

$1,803,729 

Barks  

563-065 

Dye  Woods 

... 

1,083,644 

Gums 16,884,704 

Indigo 1 ,446,490 

Licorice  Root..  1,667,256 

Opium 1,123,756 

Vanilla  Beans..  1,209,334 

Cocoa !  5^657,283 

Coffee   52,467,943 

Cork 1,444,825 

Cotton    8,^05,397 

Fibres   3i'559'3ii 


Whence  Imported. 
Dominion  of  Canada     (barley, 

wheat). 
Great  Britain  (oatmeal). 
France  (food  preparations). 

Netherlands,  Great  Britain. 

British  West  Indies,  Hayti  (log- 
wood). 

France,  Great  Britain  (extracts 
and  decoctions). 

Austria-Hungary,  United  King- 
dom (gum  arabic). 

Great  Britain  (gum  camphor). 

Mexico  (chicle  for  chewing 
gum). 

British  and  Dutch  East  Indies 
(other  gums). 

Germany,  United  Kingdom. 

France,  Russia,  Spain,  United 
Kingdom. 

Turkey,  Great  Britain. 

Great  Britain,  France,  Mexico, 
British  Australasia. 

Portugal,  British  West  Indies, 
Cuba,  Hayti,  Brazil,  Colom- 
bia, Equador,  the  Guianas, 
Venezuela. 

France,  Germany,  Netherlands, 
United  Kingdom,  Central 
American  States,  Mexico, 
West  Indies,  Brazil,  Colom- 
bia, Venezuela,  Aden,  British 
and  Dutch  East  Indies, 

Spain,  Portugal. 

Germany,  Italy,  United  King- 
dom. 

United  Kingdom,  Mexico,  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  British  East 
Indies. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 
Name.  Value  Imported, 

l-'ruits  and  Nuts     $7^472,057 


MS 


Hops 

India  Rubber  ..  31,792,697 

Plants,  trees  & 

shrubs   972,385 

Rice 2,279,036 

Sugar 100,250,974 

Spices 3,401,265 

Tea 10,558,110 

I 

Tobacco 13,297,000 


Vegetables 


Woods 


371,963 


Whence  Imported. 

Italy,  Spain,  France,  Great  Bri- 
tain, Greece. 


Dominion  of  Canada,  Belgium, 
Denmark,  France,  Portugal, 
Great  Britain. 

Central  America,  Brazil,  Chile, 
Colombia,  British  East  In- 
dies. 

Belgium,  The  Netherlands,  Gt. 
Britain,  Bermuda,  Japan. 

Germany,  Great  Britain,  Chi- 
nese Empire,  Japan. 

Austria-Hungary,  France,  Cu- 
ba, Germany,  West  Indies, 
Brazil,  Guiana,  Peru,  Hawaii, 
Philippine  Islands,  British  E. 
Africa,  Dutch  East  Indies. 

The  Netherlands,  Great  Bri- 
tain, British  East  Indies, 
Dutch  East  Indies,  Hong- 
kong, Japan. 

Great  Britain,  Dominion  of 
Canada,  Aden,  Chinese  Em- 
pire, British  East  Indies,  Ja- 
pan. 

Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Turkey  in 
Europe. 

Dominion  of  Canada,  Austria- 
Hungary,  France,  Germany, 
Bermuda. 

Nicaragua,  Mexico,  Cuba,  Do- 
minion of  Canada. 


»  II.  Animal  Kingdom. 

Name.  Value  Imported.  Whence  Imported. 

United  Kingdom,  British  North 
Animals  3,727,729  America,     France,     Nether- 


lands. 


146  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Name.  Value  Imported.  Whence  Imported. 

France,  Germany,  United  King- 
Bristles  $2,130,537  dom,  Chinese  Empire. 

Feathers  1  q6i  660         Austria-Hungary,  France,  Ger- 

^^^^^^'^  3.901,000  many,  Great  Britain. 

Dominion  of  Canada,  Nether- 
Fish  7,472,057  lands,      Scandinavia,      Great 

Britain. 

Furs  and  Fur  Chinese  Empire,  Chile,  British 

Skins   6,646,807  Australasia. 

Hair   2,445,964        France,  Germany,  Italy. 

Austria-Hungary,  France,  Bel- 
gium, Denmark,  Netherlands, 
Russia,  Great     Britain,     Do- 
f  minion     of     Canada,  Central 

Hides  &    Skins     19,408,217  American  States,  Mexico,  Ar- 

gentina, Brazil,  Colombia, 
Chinese  Empire,  French  Af- 
rica, Aden,  Venezuela,  Brit- 
ish East  Indies. 

J  Germany,  Great  Britain,  Aden, 

^^°^y 1.159,034  Africa,  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Leather  6  c;iQ  i72         France,  Germany,  United  King- 

Scandinavia,      Great      Britain, 
Newfoundland  and  Labrador, 
Oils    6,817,780  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Chi- 

nese Empire,  British  East  In- 
dies, British  Africa. 

T,       ■  ■  o,    o  France,  Germany,     Italv,     The 

Provisions  ....       2,285,383  Netherlands,  Switzerland. 

„,    ,,  Great  Britain,  France,  Mexico, 

Sh^^ls   ^'^^9>73i  French  Oceanica. 

f,.„  \/  ^  France,  Italy,  Chinese  Empire, 

Silk 45.329,760        j^p^^ 

Sponges 536,303         British  West  Indies,  Cuba. 

France,  Germany,    Great    Bri- 
tain, Russia,  Turkey  in  Eu- 

Wools   20,260,000  rope,  Argentina,  Chile,  Aus- 

tralasia, Cape  Colony,  Tur- 
key in  Asia. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  I47 

III.  Mineral  Kingdom. 
Name.  Value  Imported.  Whence  Imported. 

Antimony  $275,774  Great  Britain. 

Asbestos  293,347  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Asphaltum  ....  469,285  British  West  Indies,  Venezuela. 

Bismuth 226,884  United  Kingdom. 

Phosphates   . .  .  504,492  Germany,  Russia. 

Potash    3,437,160  Germany,  British  East  Indies. 

Soda 5,908,61 1  ^'^^^,  ^^'^^^"'  ^^'^^  ("^trate  of 

SOQ3.J. 

Sulphur 2,711,912  Italy. 

Clays  926,111  Germany,  Great  Britain. 

United  Kingdom,  Dominion  of 
Coal  and    Coke       4,708,587  Canada,  Mexico,  British  Aus- 

tralasia. 

France,  Germany,    Great    Bri- 
r-  ^  tain,  Mexico,    Cuba,    British 

^°PP^^ 12,419-901  Colombia.     British    Austral- 

asia. 

Iron  Ore   Pig-  Spain,    Newfoundland,      Cuba, 

T, c'  .  .^;„ ^o  Scandinavia     (pig  iron).  Do- 

Iron,  Scrap..       4,160,208  •   •  r  r-       f 

^  -r,     :?,  mmion  of  Canada. 

Lead 3,142,469  British  Colombia,  Mexico. 

Marble  &  Stone       1,028,550  Italy. 

Nickel  Ore  &  t-.       •   •  r  r-       j 

i^/r^..  ^ ^  ^o  Dommion  of  Canada. 

Matte   1,070,980 

pi„^Ko ^^.P-^^.  Great  Britain,  British  East  In- 

Flumbago 2,345,294  ^j^^ 

Platinum    1,770,617  l^\ance,  Germany,    Great    Bri- 

'^'   '     ^  tarn. 

c  1  u       r^  Portugal.  Spain,  Newfoundland 
Sulphur  Ore  .  .        1,224,711  and  Labrador 

c  ix  ^      o^  Great  Britain,  British  West  In- 

Salt 625,865  jjg3 

Tin    19,104,301  The  Netherlands,  Great  Britain. 

Zinc 152,273  Germany. 

Mica 314,882  ^canad^'^''''"'    ^°"''"'°"    °^ 


148  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

(156)  Subdivisions 

The  following  shows  the  different     commodities     included 

under  the  general  headings  which  have  been  given: 

Asbestos — 

Animals — cattle,  horses,  sheep. 

Asphaltum — antim'ony, 

BreadstufTs — barley,  corn,  oats,  oatmeal,  rye,  wheat,  wheat  flour, 
sago  and  tapioca. 

Barks — chinchona  or  others  from  wliich  quinine  can  be  ex- 
tracted. 

Bismuth — 

Bristles — 

Copper — 

Cotton — 

Dyewoods — logwood. 

Gums — arable,  camphor,  chicle,  copal,  cowrie,  dammar,  shellac. 

Indigo — 

Licorice  Root — 

Opium — 

Potash — chlorate,  muriate,  nitrate. 

Soda — caustic,  nitrate,  sal  soda,  soda  ash. 

Sulphur — 

Vanilla  Beans — 

Clays — blue  clay,  kaolin. 

Coal  and  Coke — anthracite,  bituminous,  coke. 

Cocoa — leaves  and  shells. 

Copper — ore,  pig  copper,  plates,  old  copper. 

Cotton — raw,  waste. 

Feathers — 

Fibres — flax,  hemp,  istle,  jute,  Manila  sisal  grass. 

Fish — lobsters,  salmon,  shrimps,  turtles,  anchovies  and  sardines, 
cod,  haddock,  hake,  pollack,  herring,  mackerel. 

Fruits  and  Nuts — bananas,  currants,  dates,  figs,  lemons,  or^ 
anges,  plums  and  prunes,  raisins,  almonds,  cocoanuts. 

Furs  and  Fur  Skins — 

Hair- 
Hay— 

Hops — 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  149 

Hides  and  Skins — goat  skins,  fish  skins,  hides  of  cattle,  gutta 

percha,  India  rubber. 
Iron — iron  ore,  pig  iron  and  scrap  iron. 
Lead — ore,  pig  lead. 
Leather — band  or  belting  and  sole,  calf  skins,  upper  and  dressed 

leather. 
Marble — 
Mica- 
Nickel  Ore  and  Matte — 
Oils — whale  and  fish,  mineral,  olive. 
Phosphates — 
Plumbago — 
Platinum — 

Provisions — meat  products,  dairy  products,  cheese,  milk. 
Rice — rice  flour  and  broken  rice. 
Salt- 
Shells — Cocoons. 

Silk — Raw,  or  as  reeled  from  cocoon,  waste. 
Spices — nutmegs,  pepper. 
Sponges — 

Sugar — sugar,  molasses. 
Tobacco — 
Vegetables — beans  and  dried  peas,  onions,  potatoes,  pickles  and 

sauces. 
Woods — cabinet  woods,  lumber. 

Wool — hair  of  the  sheep,  goat,  alpaca,  camel  and  like  animals. 
Zinc — 


(157j  Rslw  MateriaLls  Imported  of  Minor  Importa.nce  and  PrincipaLl  Count- 
ries from  which  Derived 

Agates Germany. 

Alabaster Italy. 

Hemlock  Bark   Dominion  of  Canada. 

Beeswax West  Indies. 

Broom  Corn Austria-Hungary,  Great  Britain. 

Chalk Great  Britain. 

Eggs Dominion  of  Canada. 

Guano British  West  Indies.  Peru. 

Honey Mexico.  British  West  Indies. 

Ice Dominion  of  Canada, 


ISO  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Lime  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Meerschaum Austria-Hungary. 

Chromic  Iron  Ore Turkc)^  in  Europe. 

Emery  Ore Greece,  Netherlands. 

Palm  Leaf Germany. 

Paraffin Great  Britain. 

Pearls   France. 

Gypsum Prance. 

Pumice  Stone Italy. 

Quicksilver Chinese  Empire. 

Rotten  Stone  &  Tripoli Great  Britain. 

Sand Dominion  of  Canada. 

Linseed  Great  Britain. 

Whalebone Dominion  of  Canada. 

In  studying  the  foregoing,  the  student  will  refer  to  the 
questions  at  the  end  of  the  section. 


SECTION  4. 
AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  (Continued) 

158 1  The  LocaLtion  of  Ma-nufaLCturin^  Industry 

In  the  last  section,  while  discussing  the  location  of  some  of 
the  important  raw  materials  of  the  United  States,  it  was  often 
necessary  to  note  the  causes  which  have  brought  about  the  pres- 
ent arrangement  and  location  of  the  raw  material  industries,  or, 
as  they  are  usually  called,  the  extractive  industries.  In  the 
present  section,  we  are  directly  concerned  with  the  causes  which 
determine  the  location  of  industry  in  genral,  with  particular 
emphasis  on  the  causes  influencing  the  location  of  manufactur- 
ing industry. 

(159)  Principles  thzA  Vnderlie  the  Making  of  TransportaLtion  RsLtes 

It  is  necessary  at  the  outset  to  speak  briefly  of  a  subject 
which  we  have  had  no  occasion,  until  this  time,  to  discuss.  I 
refer  to  the  principles  underlying  the  charges  made  by  the  rail- 
roads for  the  transportation  of  raw  materials  and  manufactured 
products.     All  industries  are    dependent    upon     transportation 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  151 

lines,  either  for  their  supplies  of  raw  material,  or  for  the  sale  of 
their  products  upon  the  transportation  lines.  The  rates  charged 
for  the  transportation  of  goods,  arc,  therefore,  of  decisive  im- 
portance in  determining  where  an  industry  shall  be  located.  The 
problem  before  the  railroad  manager  in  fixing  rates  is  by  no 
means  simp'le.  He  has,  first  of  all,  to  pay  the  cost  of  operation 
of  his  road.  This  is  made  up  of  wages,  supplies,  repairs  and  re- 
newals. He  has  also  to  provide  the  means  to  pay  interest  on 
the  bonds  or  certificates  of  indebtedness  which  the  railway  cor- 
poration has  issued  from  time  to  time  to  raise  money  for  con- 
struction purposes,  and  for  cars,  engines,  and  terminals,  and 
also  to  pay  the  taxes  levied  by  the  state.  He  has  finally,  if 
possible,  to  get  enough  out  of  the  road  to  pay  a  dividend  upon 
the  stock. 

(160)  Sums  Which  Must  be  Earned  by  TransportaLtion  of  Freight 

Let  us  suppose,  that  these  sums  must  be  earned  by  the 
transportation  of  freight.  This  freight  contains  a  great  variety 
of  articles — coal,  wheat,  lumber,  stone,  ores,  leather,  wool,  cot- 
ton cloth,  machinery,  wines,  furniture  and  jewelry,  besides  a  host 
of  other  articles.  It  is  by  transporting  these  goods  for  greater 
or  smaller  distances  that  the  railway  manager  must  pay  operat- 
ing expenses,  fixed  charges,  and  dividends.  What  is  the  general 
rule  which  he  will  follow  in  charging  the  shippers  of  the  com- 
modities above  mentioned  for  the  transportation  of  their  goods? 
It  will  be  observed,  at  once,  that,  weight  for  weight,  these  arti- 
cles vary  greatly  in  value.  A  ton  of  coal  is  worth  at  the  mine, 
it  may  be,  $1.25,  while  a  ton  of  steel  rails  may  be  worth  25  times 
that  amount,  and  a  ton  of  cloth  several  hundred  times  the  value 
of  a  ton  of  coal.  In  view  of  this  fact  what  shall  be  the  freight 
charges  imposed  upon  goods  of  different  values?  Shall  they 
pay  the  same,  weight  for  weight,  or  shall  the  charge  vary  with 
the  article  carried?  Let  us  look  at  the  matter  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  railway  manager,  which  we  shall  find  to  be  identical 
with  that  of  the  shipper,  providing  that  the  railway  manager  is 
an  intelligent  man.  The  first  rule  which  he  lays  down  for  his 
own  guidance  is  that  each  ton  of  freight  shcwuld  at  least  pay  the 
cost  of  its  carriage.     The  reason  for  this  is  evident.     If  any  item 


152  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

of  freight  pays  less  than  its  own  cost  of  carriage,  the  road  is, 
to  that  extent,  being  operated  at  a  loss, 

(161)  Utilize  His  Track  and  Rolling  Stock  to  the  Fullest   Extent. 

In  the  second  place,  the  railway  manager  desires  to  utilize 
his  track  and  rolling  stock  to  the  fullest  possible  extent;  to  ship 
as  much  freight  as  his  engines  will  pull  and  his  cars  carry.  The 
reason  for  this  is  plain.  We  have  assumed  that  the  road  was 
built  with  borrowed  money.  Every  mile  of  track  and  every  en- 
gine and  car,  therefore,  is  represented  in  the  annual  interest 
charge,  and  should,  if  the  money  has  been  wisely  invested,  con- 
tribute to  pay  that  interest.  The  more  they  are  used,  the  larger, 
other  things  being  equal,  will  be  their  contribution  to  pay  the 
interest  on  their  cost,  and  when  that  has  been  paid,  the  larger 
will  be  their  contribution  to  the  dividend  fund.  Moreover,  it 
costs  much  less  to  pull  each  car  of  a  train  of  forty  cars  than  to 
pull  each  unit  of  a  train  of  five  or  ten  cars.  The  track  will  carry 
the  larger  number  without  extra  expense,  and  the  engine  will 
pull  them  with  very  much  less  than  a  proportionate  increase  in 
the  amount  of  coal  burned,  while  the  train  crew  is  the  same. 
We  start  then  with  these  two  rules:  First,  that  each  unit  of 
traffic  should  pay  its  own  cost;  second,  that  the  facilities  of  the 
road  should  always  be  taxed  to  their  full  extent. 

(162)  Principles  to  Regulate  the  Freight  Cha.rges  of  the  Ro&d 

On  the  basis  of  these  two  rules,  the  railway  manager  lays 
down  the  following  principles  to  regulate  the  freight  charges  of 
his  road: 

1.  To  carry  any  freight  which  will  pay  something  more 
than  the  cost  of  haulage. 

2.  To  charge  as  much  above  the  cost  of  haulage  as  the 
.traffic  will  bear. 

This  second  principle  requires  some  explanation.  It  does 
not  mean  that  the  railroad  company  shall  charge  the  shipper  as 
much  as  he  can  be  forced,  at  a  given  time,  to  pay;  for  this  might 
have  the  effect  of  driving  the  shipper  out  of  business,  and  thus 
deprive  the  railway  company  of  the  source  of  its  revenue. 
Neither  does  it  mean,  when  properly  understood,  that  the  rail- 
way should  leave  to  the  shipper  only  sufficient  profit  to  keep 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  153 

him  at  work  producing  freight  for  the  railroad.  This  policy 
would  prevent  that  rapid  growth  of  traffic  which  the  extension 
of  business  enterprises  would  naturally  bring,  and  which  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  railway  manager,  so  long  as  any  portion  of 
his  transportation  system  is  not  taxed  to  its  full  capacity,  to 
encourage. 

The  effort  of  the  railway  manager  in  assessing  rates  upon 
the  shipper  according  to  the  rule  of  charging  what  the  traffic 
will  bear,  should  be  to  lay  such  a  rate  upon  each  article  as  will 
pay  the  cost  of  transporting  that  article,  and  as  much  in  addi- 
tion as  the  shipper  can  afford  to  pay  while  securing  for  himself 
a  liberal  profit.  When  this  rule  of  policy  has  been  laid  down, 
the  general  principle  of  apportioning  tariffs  among  different 
classes  of  freight  is  evident.  The  cheaper  the  freight,  the  lower 
must  be  the  tariff  levied  upon  it  as  compared  with  goods  whose 
values  are  greater.  Raw  materials,  under  this  rule,  are  charged 
less  per  ton  than  manufactured  products,  and  as  manufactured 
products  rise  in  value,  the  tariff  upon  them  increases.  The 
reason  for  this  discrimination  is  the  w'ell  known  fact  that  the 
margin  of  profit  on  a  ton  of  coal  selling  for  $2,  is  necessarily  200 
times  less  than  the  margin  of  profit  on  a  ton  of  cloth  Avhich  may 
sell  for  $400.  If  the  raihvay  charges  $1.00  for  transporting  the 
coal  200  miles,  it  may  reasonably  charge  $200  for  transporting 
the  cloth  for  the  same  distance.  As  a  matter  of  practice,  the 
difference  between  the  freight  charged  on  a  ton  of  coal  and  that 
charged  on  a  ton  of  cloth  is  very  much  less  than  the  difference 
between  the  price  of  coal  and  cloth.  Tlie  practical  operation  of 
this  principle  of  charging  what  the  traffic  will  bear  appears  in 
the  following  table: 

Qiicago  and  North  Western  Railway. 

Commodity  Rates  from  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  or  Manitowoc. 
Commodities. 

fl63)  Illus<ra.Uon 

In  straight  car-loads,  minimum  weight  30,000  lbs.,  unless 
otherwise  specified.  In  cents  p-er  100  lbs.,  unless  otherwise 
specified,  to:  Northwood,  Mason  City,  and  Hampton. 


154  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Agricultural  Implements   21 

Bicycles  63 

Binding  Twine   19 

Paving  Brick    10  1-2 

Pig  Iron I   i-io 

Tinware 63 

The  student  will  observe  how  the  rate  varies  with  the  price 
of  the  article;  and  how,  between  articles  of  the  same  class,  bicy- 
cles and  agricultural  implements,  both  being  properly  classed 
under  machinery,  the  bicycle  pays  the  higher  tariff.  That  a 
higher  rate  is  charged  on  expensive  than  on  cheap  goods  is  the 
most  important  fact  to  keep  in  mind  concerning  the  relation  be- 
tween transportation  charges  and  industrial  location. 

(164)  Influence  of  Competition  Upon  Rates 

It  should  also  be  noted,  in  this  connection,  that  railway 
rates  may  be  greatly  influenced  by  competition.  Two  or  more 
lines  connecting  the  same  places  or  covering  the  same  territory, 
may  reduce  rates,  just  as  rival  merchants  may  cut  prices,  until 
rates  may  fall  below  the  cost  of  carriage.  These  seasons  of  firm 
competition  always  result  in  heavy  losses  to  the  roads,  and  rail- 
way managers  are  anxious  to  avoid  them.  It  is  also  true  that 
when  a  town  or  a  single  factory  has  the  services  of  two  roads  in- 
dependently owned,  rates  from  that  town  will  be  much  lower 
than  where  only  one  road  is  available. 

(165)  WaLter  Competition 

The  existence  of  water  competition  is  equally  effective  in 
keeping  down  railway  rates.  During  the  winter  season,  when 
the  lakes  are  ice  bound,  rates  between  Chicago  and  eastern 
cities  are  generally  higher.  In  former  years,  railways  always 
charged  more  per  mile  on  the  same  class  of  freight  for  a  long- 
haul  than  for  a  short  haul,  but  this  has  been  done  away  with  by 
act  of  Congress.  It  is  also  an  invariable  rule  that  rates  on  the 
same  class  are  lowest  in  the  direction  in  which  traffic  is  the 
highest.  For  example,  west-bound  rates  are  usually  lower  than 
east-bound  rates  because  the  quantity  of  freight  brought  east  is 
much  greater  than  that  carried  west,  and  the  roads  are  glad  to 
fill  their  empty  cars  at  almost  any  price;  for  return  freight  on 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  155 

cars  that  usually  go  back  empty  represents  so  much  clear  profit. 
It  is  also  true,  although  often  denied  by  the  railroads,  and  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  prove,  that  large  shippers  whose  patronage 
is  valuable  to  a  road,  fequently  receive  concessions  in  rates  over 
small  shippers,  who  are  frequently  put  at  a  serious  disadvantage. 
These  discriminations  are  forbidden  by  law,  but  are  neverthe- 
less extensively  practiced,  although  this  evil  is  much  less  serious 
than  it  formerly  was.  The  method  of  granting  these  conces- 
sions to  favored  shippers  is  usually  by  some  rebate  or  return, 
often  in  response  to  a  fictitious  claim,  made  by  the  shipper,  for 
damages  or  for  previous  overcharge.  These  transactions  are 
generally  carried  on  by  subordinates,  who  are  anxious,  on  the 
one  hand  to  get  business  for  their  road,  and  on  the  other,  to 
make  as  much  money  as  possible  for  their  firm.  The  principals 
do  not,  as  a  rule,  know  everything  which  their  subordinates  do 
in  such  transactions,  nor  do  they  often  trouble  themselves  to 
find  out. 

(166)  Transportation  Routes 

Only  second  in  interest  to  the  question  of  freight  charges, 
is  the  question  of  transportation  routes;  the  reasons  why  com- 
modities are  sent  by  one  route  rather  than  by  another,  and  the 
changes  which  are  constantly  taking  place  in  the  relative  im- 
portance of  different  routes.  This  subject  can  be  best  under- 
stood from  a  discussion  of  the  direction  of  the  east  bound  flour 
and  grain  traffic,  by  far  the  most  important  element  in  the  long 
distance  traffic  in  the  United  States.  Grain  may  be  shipped 
from  the  west  to  the  seaboard  by  several  different  routes.  It 
may  be  sent  down  the  lakes  from  Duluth,  Milwaukee  or  Chi- 
cago, to  Bufifalo;  there  transferred  to  the  Erie  Canal,  and  either 
carried  via  the  Hudson  River  to  New  York,  or  tranship>ped  at 
Albany  and  forwarded  by  rail  to  Boston;  or  it  may  be  trans- 
ferred to  railway  cars  at  Buffalo  and  so  carried  to  the  North 
Atlantic  seaports.  These  are  the  lake  and  canal,  lake  and  rail, 
or  lake,  canal,  and  rail  routes.  Again,  grain  may  be  shipped  on 
all  rail  route,  either  to  New  York,  or  Boston,  the  North  Atlan- 
.tic  ports,  or  to  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  or  Newport  News — 
South  Atlantic  ports,  or  to  New  Orleans,  Galveston  or  Port 


156  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

Arthur — Gulf  ports.     Tlie  causes  which  influence  a  choice  of 
these  various  routes  will  now  be  considered.* 

(167)  Prior  to  1850,  Land  Transportation  Little  Developed 

Prior  to  1850,  grain  and  other  bulky  products  were  shipped 
mainly  along  the  Great  Lakes  east  and  down  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Southern  ports.  Land  transportation  was  but  little  devel- 
oped. The  early  railroads  had  been  built  as  adjuncts  or  feeders 
to  canals.  Railroads  were  few  and  weak  and  freights  were 
high.  From  i860  to  1880,  however,  great  improvements  were 
made  in  the  railroads,  which  had  the  effect  of  increasing  the 
overland  business.     These  improvements  were  as  follows: 

(a)  Reduction  of  grades  and  curves, 

(b)  Improved  ballasting  and  better  bridges. 

(c)  Introduction  of  steel  rails,  which  permitted  the  use 

of  the  heavier  engines  and  larger  cars,  whose 
construction  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  steel 
about  this  time  made  possible. 

(d)  Consolidation  of  connecting  lines  and  the  through 

freight  lines,  billing  cars  from  one  line  to  another, 
which  did  away  >vith  transhipment  of  freight, 
which  was  the  dearest  charge  in  the  early  days. 

(e)  Scientific  rate  making, or  charging  what  the  traffic 

would  bear — the  fundamental  principle  of  rate 
making,  which  has  already  been  discussed  and  ex- 
plained. 

(168)  Result  of  Improvements  in  ReLilroadin^ 

As  a  result  of  these  improvements  in  railroading,  serious 
competition  began  between  the  waterways  and  the  railroads  for 
the  flour  and  grain  traffic.  The  Great  Lakes  and  the  Erie  Canal 
had  up  to  this  time  almost  monopolized  the  eastbound  grain 
traffic,  but  now  the  railroads  were  in  position  to  fight  for  this 
trade.  In  1872,  the  railroads  first  made  serious  inroads  into 
the  lake  business,  and  by  1876  the  railroads  had  gained  Half  of 
the  east  bound  grain,  and  they  have  since  waged  a  vigorous  bat- 
tle with  the  lake  carriers  for  this  traffic.  This  advantage,  which 
the  railroads  gained  over  the  lake  and  canal  route,  was  not  so 


♦Condensation  of  G.  C.  Tunell's  paper  on   Diversion  of  Flour  and  Grain  Traffic  from 
the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Railroads.— yo;<r«a/  of  Political  Economy ,  June ,  J901. 


^     OF  THF     "*^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

n£lnroRK\h^ 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  159 

much  due  to  the  fact  that  ihcy  charged  lower  rates  than  bcjats; 
in  fact,  their  rates  were  then  and  still  remain,  on  the  average, 
considerably  higher  than  the  rates  charged  over  the  lake  and 
canal  route.  The  success  of  the  railroads  was  rather  due  to 
certain  special  advantages  which  they  possessed  in  the  forward- 
ing of  grain.     These  advantages  were  as  follows: 

1.  During  four  months  of  the  year  the  lakes  were  ice- 

bound and  grain  could  only  be  sent  by  rail. 

2.  The  railroads  were  responsible  for  the  safe  delivery 

of  goods  entrusted  to  them  and  therefore  the 
high  insurance  paid  on  all  freight  carried  by  lake, 
averaging  $1  per  v$ioo  of  value,  was  not  required. 

3.  Grain  carried  in  cars  during  the  warm  season  ar- 

rives in  better  condition  than  when  sent  by 
water. 

(169)  RaLilroads  Lose  in  Wheat,  but  GaLin  in  Corn  and  OMs 

The  railroads  vigorously  pushed  these  advantages,  and 
provided  abundant  facilities  for  handling  their  new  traffic.  Be- 
ginning with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  1872,  they  built  terminal 
elevators  at  the  Atlarrtic  seaboard.  Before  these  elevators 
were  built,  difficulty  had  been  experienced  by  the  railroads  in 
finding  storage  for  their  grain;  and  the  provision  of  terminal 
facilities  greatly  increased  the  ability  of  the  railroads  to  com- 
pete. During  later  years,  however,  their  share  both  of  the  fiour 
and  wheat  traffic  has  fallen  of.  Thus  while  in  the  three  years, 
1876  to  1878,  the  lakes  carried  only  695,000  barrels  of  flour,  and 
30,624  bushels  of  wheat  as  compared  with  6,909,000  barrels  of 
flour  and  18,343,000  bushels  of  wheat,  during  the  three  years, 
'94-'96,  the  lakes  carried  3,427,000  barrels  of  flour  as  compared 
with  5,151,000  carried  by  the  railroad,  and  41,506,000  bushels  of 
wheat  as  against  16,948,000  bushels  carried  by  the  railroad.  It 
is  easy  to  be  seen  that  the  railroads  have  lost  a  good  share  of 
the  advantage  they  once  possessed.  The  lakes  have  been  re- 
gaining their  old  position  as  grain  carriers. 

In  corn,  the  railroads  have  done  much  better.  In  the  three 
years,  1894-1896,  the  total  receipts  of  corn  at  Erie  and  Buffalo, 
the  lower  lake  ports,  w^ere  126,723,000  bushels,  and  the  receipts 
of  corn  at  the  eight  Atlantic  ports  were  107,212,000  greater,  in- 


i6o  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

dicating  that  the  railroads  carried  nearly  as  much  as  the  lakes. 
The  roads  have  done  even  better  on  oats — the  receipts  of  oats 
at  Erie  and  Buffalo  being  78,338,000  bushels,  and  at  the  eight 
Atlantic  ports,  168,968,000,  or  90,580,000  greater.  It  is  thus 
seen  that  the  railroads  have  failed  in  their  competition  with  the 
lakes  for  the  flour  and  wheat  trafific,  but  have  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  very  large  share  of  the  east  bound  movement  of  corn  and 
oats.     The  reasons  are  as  follows: 

1.  Corn  contains  a  larger  percentage  of. moisture  than 

wheat — especially  during  the  germinating  season. 
It  is  therefore  not  advisable  to  have  it  gathered 
in  large  masses  in  damp  surroundings,  as  it  would 
be  if  shipped  in  the  holds  of  vessels. 

2.  Oats  take  up  moisture  very    readily    and    a    small 

amount  of  moisture  will  render  them  musty,  on 
which  account  it  is  desirable  to  ship  them  in  small 
lots. 

3.  Lake  rates  are  fixed  on  a  basis  of  bulk.     Oats  weigh 

only  32  pounds  to  the  bushel  vs.  60  for  wheat; 
and  lake  rates  on  oats  are  therefore  much  higher 
in  proportion  to  their  value  than  those  on  wheat. 
Tlie  grain  car,  however,  is  so  large  that  it  can  be 
loaded  to  its  full  capacity  with  oats;  and,  there- 
fore, the  rates  charged  by  the  railroads  on  this 
grain  are  lower  than  those  charged  by  the  lakes. 

(170)  Movement  of  Center  of  Whea.t,  Cori\  a.nd  Oats  Production 

Certain  other  reasons  already  indicated  in  another  connec- 
tion, explain  the  failure  of  the  railroads  to  compete  for  the  wheat 
tralBc.  The  center  of  wheat  growing  in  the  United  States  has 
been  mofing  north  and  west,  due  to  the  growth  of  spring  wheat 
culture  in  Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas.  Twenty  years  ago,  the 
bulk  of  American  wheat  was  grown  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan 
and  Illinois.  This  grain  would  go  by  rail  because  a  short  rail 
haul  to  the  lakes  would  be  necessary,  which  would  mean  high 
local  rates,  and  these  added  to  the  lake  rates  would  more  than 
equal  the  all-rail  charges,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
lake  and  rail  distance,   Chicago  to   Buffalo— Buffalo  to  New 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  i6i 

York,  was  1299  mile^  as  against  912  miles  by  all-rail  route  over 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  from  Chicago  to  New  York.  Owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  center  of  wheat  production  has  moved  to  the 
north,  the  situation  has  been  changed.  The  great  wheat  dis- 
trict is  now  located  directly  west  of  Lake  Superior;  and  it  is 
therefore  shorter  to  ship  by  rail  to  Duluth,  and  from  there  to 
send  the  grain  and  flour  down  the  lakes,  than  to  'haul  the  long 
distance  by  rail  to  Chicago  and  thence  to  New  York.  In  recent 
years,  the  receipts  of  wheat  at  Duluth  have  steadily  increased. 
Most  of  the  flour  sent  to  the  seaboard  is  now  made  from  the 
hard  wheat  of  the  Northwest,  and  the  shipments  of  flour  take 
the  same  direction. 

(171)  Compeiition  of  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  Ports  with  North  Atlantic  Ports 

In  corn,  the  movement  of  the  center  of  production  has  been 
westward,  tending  rather  south  than  north.     Neither  corn  nor 
oats  is  largely  cultivated  in  the  Northwest.     It  is,  therefore, 
jiatural  and  easy  for  corn  and  oats  to  be  shipped  by  all-rail 
route  to  the  seaboard  because  this  is  by  far  their  shortest  pos- 
sible journey.     Owing,   moreover,   to   the   southward   trend   of 
corn  culture,  the  South  Atlantic  ports — Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
Newport  News  and  Norfolk — have  gained  the  bulk  of  the  all- 
rail  trafiEic  on  corn.     The  South  Atlantic  ports  steadily  gained 
over  New  York  traffic  for  other  reasons.     In  1885,  New  York 
had  55  1-2  per  cent,  of  the  total  receipts  of  wheat,  corn,  and 
flour  at  the  Atlantic  ports — in  1899,  38.7  per  cent.     The  receipts 
at  Boston  during  the  same  period  decreased  from  15  to  10.8  per 
cent,:  the  difference  being  represented  by  increased  receipts  at 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Norfolk  and  Newport  News;  and  the 
reason  being  the  existence  of  a  differential  of  10  per  cent,  to 
Philadelphia  and  13  per  cent,  to  Baltimore  less  than  to  New 
York.     That  is  to  say,  the  Southern  railways  are  allowed  by  the 
Northern  lines  to  charge  less  than  they  do  themselves.     This 
diiTerential  is  intended  to  represent  the  advantage  which  New 
York  possesses  over  the  other  cities  in  its  larger  shipping  facil- 
ities.    Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  began  on  a  large  scale  in 
1891,  when  10.6  million  bushels  of  wheat  were  received. 

In  1898  the  receipts  at  New  Orleans  of  both  wheat  and 
corn  were  very  large — 12.6  million  bushels  of  wheat  and  19.7 
10 


i62  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

million  bushels  of  corn.  Galveston  also  received  a  large  share 
of  this  south  bound  traffic — 11.2  million  bushels  of  wheat  and  5.5 
million  bushels  of  corn.  This  traffic  has  grown  up  within  a 
decade.  Very  little  of  this  south  bound  grain  comes  from  the 
territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  none  whatever  from  the 
region  of  Northern  wheat  and  the  northern  part  of  the  corn 
belt.  Here  the  Southern  railroads  have  no  advantage.  But 
south  of  the  southern  boundary  of  Iowa  and  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  an  area  including  northern  Kansas,  southern  Ne- 
braska, south-western  Iowa  and  north-western  Missouri — a  re- 
gion including  some  of  the  best  agricultural  land  in  the  wesl', 
the  southern  roads  have  an  advantage  and  have  been  increas- 
ing their  share  of  the  traffic.  This  grain  goes,  most  of  it,  to 
Europe  and  the  southern  roads  claim  that  this  territory  should 
receive  its  European  shipments  through  the  Gulf  ports.  The 
great  difficulty  in  building  up  a  south  bound  grain  traffic  is 
found  in  securing  return  freights. 

We  can  see  illustrated  in  this  competition  between  the  lakes 
and  the  railroads,  and  also  between  the  different  railroads,  the 
principiles  that  govern  the  direction  of  transportation  routes. 
Cheapness  is  the  dominant  factor,  but  other  considerations — of 
prompt  delivery,  insurance  of  the  product  being  delivered  in 
good  condition,  and  adequate  terminal  facilities — are  important 
factors  also. 

(172)  The  Causes  which  Influence  ike  Location  of  Industry 

Keeping  the  general  principles  of  rate-making  in  mind,  let 
us  now  turn  to  the  discussion  of  the  causes  which  influence  the 
location  of  industry.*  In  the  first  place,  all  the  operations  con- 
nected with  the  extractive  industries — mining,  agriculture,  lum- 
bering— are  necessar'ily  carried  on  where  the  natural  resources 
are  located. 

(173)  The  Operations  which  Reduce  the  Bulk  eLnd  Increase  the  Value  of 

Rslw  M&teri&.ls 

Generally  speaking,  the  subsequent  operations  which  re- 
duce the  bulk  and  increase  the  value  of  these  raw  materials   are 


♦Condensation  of  pajier  by  I'rofcssor  K.  A.  Ross,  now  of  the  University  of  Nebraska,  on 
the  "  Location  of  Industries,"  published  in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  April,  1896. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  163 

carried  on  at  the  source  of  supply  whenever  the  increase  in 
weight  more  than  offsets  the  higher  freight  charges  that  result 
from  the  increased  value  given  to  the  raw  material  by  the  man- 
ufacturing process.  The  lumber  industry  is  the  most  common 
example.  Logs  are  seldom  carried  far  to  the  saw  mill.  TTie 
gain  in  value  from  the  log  to  the  plank  is  not  so  great  as  to  call 
for  a  freight  rate  much  higher  than  that  charged  on  the  log; 
while  the  loss  in  weight,  from  the  first  sawing,  is  so  considerable 
as  to  make  the  expense  of  shipping  rough  boards  much  less 
than  the  cost  of  shipping  logs.  When  we  come  to  the  subse- 
quent operations  of  wood  working,  however,  in  which  the  rough 
boards  are  planed  and  grooved  and  made  into  furniture  and 
other  articles,  then  we  find  that,  other  things  being  the  same, 
the  boards  are  shipped  the  long  distances  and  the  furniture  and 
woodwork  are  manufactured  as  near  as  possible  to  the  market 
where  they  are  to  be  sold.  This  illustration  s'hows  the  influence 
upon  the  location  of  industry  of  the  principle  regulating  freight 
rates  which  has  just  been  described,  viz.,  that  of  charging  a 
higher  rate  as  the  goods  become  more  valuable,  only  here  it  is 
the  shipper  who  is  concerned  to  make  his  freight  bill  as  low  as 
he  can  by  shipping  his  raw  materials  at  a  low  rate  and  selling 
his  finished  product,  which  must  pay  a  high  rate,  near  the  fac- 
tory. 

(174)  The  Influence  of  Climate  upon  the  Location  of  Industry 

Climate  has  often  a  decisive  influence  upon  the  location  of 
industry.  For  example,  in  all  forms  of  spinning  and  weaving, 
the  fibres  of  silk,  wool  or  cotton  can  be  manipulated  much  more 
readily  and  hold  together  more  tenaciously  in  a  moist  atmos- 
phere. So  important  is  this  influence, of  climate  that  in  many 
New  England  mills,  during  dry  weather,  artificial  means  are 
used  to  keep  the  atmosphere  of  the  mill  humid.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  cigarettes,  on  the  other  hand,  a  dry  climate  is  con- 
sidered necessary  in  order  to  preserve  the  flavor  of  the  tobacco 
which  is  impaired  in  damp  air.  Again,  industries  that  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  application  of  external  heat,  as,  for  example, 
all  forms  of  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  try  to  avoid  locating  in 
a  hot  cHmate.  For  an  example,  the  iron  and  steel  industry  of 
Alabama  is  greatly  handicapped  because    it    must    rely    upon 


i64  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

negro  labor.     The  climate  is  too  hot  for  white  men  to  endure 
the  additional  heat  of  the  iron  or  steel  mill. 

(175)  Perishability  of  NaLterials  an  Invportaivt  Influence  on  Location 

The  perishability  of  the  materials  has  often  an  important 
influence  on  the  location  of  industry.  For  example,  the  juice 
of  the  sugar  cane,  if  allowed  to  stand  for  a  few  hours,  sours 
and  spoils,  and  the  sugar  is  lost.  For  this  reason,  and  also  be- 
cause the  canes  must  be  crushed  soon  after  they  are  cut,  the 
sugar  house  must  be  located  near  the  cane  field.  The  canning 
of  salmon  must  for  the  same  reason  be  carried  on  near  the 
source  of  supply.  The  manufacture  of  butter  and  cheese  illus- 
trates the  same  principle. 

(176)  Supply  of  Fuel  or  Water  Power  an  Important  Bearing  on  Location 

The  supply  of  fuel  or  of  water  power  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  location  of  industry.  Water  power  is  much 
cheaper  than  steam  power  and,  for  this  reason,  power  industries 
center  about  it.  The  supply  of  coal,  however,  is  practically  un- 
limited, while  the  suppiy  of  water  power  is  quickly  taken  up,  and 
coal  can  be  carried  long  distances  at  comparatively  small  cost. 
For  these  reasons,  when  water  power  has  come  to  be  in  such 
great  demand  as  to  cause  its  price  to  rise,  industries  tend  to 
leave  the  waterfalls  and  move  toward  the  coal  mines.  Other 
things  being  equal,  industries  will  always  seek  the  location  of 
the  cheapest  power.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that  most  of  the 
cotton  mills  built  in  the  United  States  in  recent  years  have 
been  erected  in  the  South  where  the  numerous  rivers  of  that 
section  fall  from  the  highlands  into  the  Coastal  Plain.  The  de- 
velopment of  electric  power  transmission  for  long  distances  has 
widened  the  circle  of  location  of  industries  depending  on  electric 
power,  and  has  given  promise  that,  by  its  further  development, 
water  power  of  mountain  and  upland  regions  which  is  now  una- 
vailable because  of  its  location  may  be  some  day  used.  In 
this  connection  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  vast  majority  of 
cases  materials  are  moved  down  hill  and  the  lighter  products 
are  taken  back  up  the  grade.  Very  few  upland  regions  can  be 
the  seats  of  great  industrial  centers. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  165 

(177)  Industries  Utilizing  the  Wa.ste  Products 

Many  industries  are  calculated  to  utilize  either  the  waste 
products  or  the  surplus  labor  of  other  industries,  and  arc  there- 
fore located  close  to  them.  Thus  in  Armour's  packing  pJant 
there  are  52  separate  departments.  The  hoofs  of  the  animals 
are  made  into  glue,  the  largest  glue  factory  in  the  world  being 
located  here.  A  large  soap  factory  to  utilize  a  portion  of  the 
oils  and  fats;  a  curled  hair  factory;  a  factory  for  the  manufacture 
of  brush  handles,  knife  blades  and  other  bone  articles;  a  factory 
for  the  manufacture  of  articles  of  horn,  such  as  combs,  buttons, 
etc.;  a  fertilizer  factory  which  works  up  bones,  offal  and  blood, 
and  many  other  departments  are  included  in  this  one  business. 
An  example  of  an  industry  so  located  as  to  utilize  surplus  labor 
is  furnished  by  the  presence  of  the  silk  industry  in  the  iron 
towns  of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  The  women  and  gir'ls  who 
would  otherwise  be  unemployed  find  work  in  the  silk  mills. 

(178)  R.esidence  of  Consumer  Decisive  FaLCtor  in  Location  of  Industries 

The  residence  of  the  consumer  is  the  decisive  factor  in  the 
location  of  many  industries.  These  are  so-called  service  indus- 
tries, such  as  shoe  mending,  barbering,  etc.;  and  all  those  in- 
dustries that  produce  goods  for  the  personal  and  individual  in- 
spection of  the  consumer — such  as  tailoring,  millinery,  dress- 
making, photographing,  and  newspapers.  All  industries, 
finally,  which  can  be  carried  on  as  well  in  one  place  as  in  an- 
other, and  in  the  value  of  whose  products  transportation  cost 
does  not  figure  largely,  as  a  rule,  seek  the  consumer. 

(179)  Speci&liza.tion  of  Labor  a.  Determining  FaLctor 

Specialization  of  labor  is  often  a  determining  factor  in  lo- 
cating an  industry.  A  population,  such  as  that  of  southern 
New  England,  for  example,  may  have  been  trained  for  genera- 
tions in  particular  occupations  until  it  comes  to  acquire,  often 
it  would  seem,  by  inheritance,  remarkable  dexterity  in  them. 
Knife  and  saw  making,  all  kinds  of  brass  work  and  other  indus- 
tries requiring  a  high  order  of  skill,  are  chiefly  carried  on  in 
Connecticut,  for  the  reasons  that  here  is  the  largest  supply  of 
highly    skilled     labor.     This  factor,  however,  is  decreasing  in 


i66  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

importance,  with  the  increasing  tendency  of  the  people  to  move 
freely  about  the  country,  and  with  the  general  spread  of  man- 
ual training  and  technical  education. 

(180)  Cheapness  of  Labor  a  Decisive  Influence 

The  cheapness  of  labor  may  be  a  decisive  influence  in  the 
location  of  industries.  This  is  most  important  in  those  indus- 
tries which  are  still  in  a  backward  condition,  that  is  to  say,  in 
which  machinery  has  not  seriously  entered,  and  where,  there- 
fore, the  cost  of  labor  is  of  great  importance.  Such  industries 
are  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  linen,  underwear,  gloves,  mil- 
linery and  cigars.  The  most  familiar  of  these  in  reference  to 
the  importance  of  cheap  labor,  is  the  manufacture  of  clothing. 
This  is  carried  on  principally  in  the  large  cities,  where  it  is  given 
out  by  contract  to  men  who  hire  the  lowest  grade  of  labor,  us- 
ually foreigners,  who  are  used  to  long  hours  and  low  wages  at 
home  and  who  work  often  i6  hours  a  day  for  30  to  50  cents. 
This  is  called  the  "sweating  system;"  and  since  it  is  justly  con- 
sidered to  be  highly  injurious  to  public  welfare,  many  laws  have 
been  directed  against  it,  and  some  attempts  have  been  made  to 
enforce  these  laws.  These  efforts  have  as  yet  been  only  partly 
successful. 

(181)  Final  Cause  Influencing  LocMion  of  Industry 

The  final  cause  influencing  the  location  of  industry  is  the 
degree  of  security  to  life  and  property  that  a  given  locality  pre- 
sents. Neither  labor  nor  capital  cares  to  migrate  to  places 
where  security  cannot  be  guaranteed  by  law,  and  where  the 
sentiment  of  the  community  is  generally  with  the  law  breaker. 
It  is  this  cause  which  has  for  so  long  hindered  the  industrial  de- 
velopment of  the  South.  The  general  lawlessness  of  that  sec- 
tion, attested  by  the  numerous  lynchings  of  negroes,  is  a  seri- 
ous obstacle  to  its  prosperity.  Heavy  taxation  is  also  a  hin- 
drance to  large  investments  of  capital. 

As  a  general  principle,  industry  may  be  said  to  arrange  it- 
self about  definite  centers  where  markets  are  largest  and  where 
the  raw  materials  can  be  most  easily  assembled.  The  tendency 
is  to  scatter  these  centers  over  the  country  whenever  a  partic- 
ular district  has  grown  populous  enough  to  afiford  a  good  mar- 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  167 

ket.  The  main  reason  is  that  which  was  explained  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  section — the  lower  freight  charges  on  the  raw 
material  as  compared  with  the  finished  product,  which  always 
makes  it  an  object  to  a  manufacturer  to  get  as  close  as  possible 
to  his  market.  Only  in  those  cases — to  repeat  a  former  state- 
ment— where  the  gain  in  the  smaller  weight  of  the  product  is 
more  than  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the  higher  cost  of  trans- 
porting manufactured  products,  does  industry  in  its  location 
cling  to  the  raw  material;  and  these  industries  are  generally 
those  in  which  the  increased  value  resulting  from  the  manufac- 
turing operation  is  not  great.  A  further  influence  working  for 
the  diffusion  of  industry  in  scattered  groups  over  a  wide  area, 
is  the  general  distribution  of  raw  material.  In  Section  II  it  was 
shown  that  most  of  the  raw  materials  are  widely  distributed 
throughout  the  United  States.  Timber,  iron,  coal,  copper, 
lead,  clay,  petroleum,  stone,  etc.,  are  found  in  many  places. 
Even  those  materials  which  are  grown  in  one  portion  of  the 
country  are  generally  equi-distant  from  many  other  portions, 
in  some  of  which  manufacturing  cities  are  found,  and  some  not. 
Take  cotton  for  example.  The  cotton  fields  of  Arkansas  are 
nearer  to  Kansas  City  than  the  cotton  of  North  Carolina  is  to 
Fall  River,  Massachusetts;  and  yet,  even  to-day,  cotton  goods 
are  carried  from  Fall  River  and  sold  in  Kansas  City.  This  con- 
dition can  only  be  temporary,  and  in  the  same  way  that  we  have 
seen  the  shoe  industry  grow  up  in  the  middle  west,  so,  in  the 
progress  of  our  industrial  development,  will  all  the  important 
branches  of  manufacture  tend  to  follow  the  currents  of  popu- 
lation, finally  locating  where  the  markets  are  largest. 

(182)  ExzLinple  of  an  Industrial  Loca.tion 

A  striking  example  of  an  industrial  location,  which  will 
serve  to  conclude  this  section,  is  furnished  by  Pittsburg.  This 
city  is  the  center  and  chief  seat  of  the  iron  and  steel  trade  of 
the  United  States.  Nearly  half  the  steel  produced  in  this  coun- 
try is  made  in  Pittsburg.  In  and  around  the  city  are  more 
than  4000  establishments  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron 
and  steel,  and  yet  Pittsburg  has  no  workable  iron  beds  nearer 
than  1000  miles.     Turn  back  to  the  map  of  the  iron  regions  of 


i68  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

the  United  States,  and  note  the  position  of  Pittsburg  in  relation 
to  the  iron  mines  of  Lake  Superior.  It  is  from  these  mines, 
owing  to  the  purity  and  abundance  of  the  ore  which  they  pro- 
duce, that  substantially  all  the  iron  ore  used  in  the  Pittsburg 
and  adjoining  districts  is  taken.  It  would  seem,  on  the  face  of 
things,  that  Pittsburg  is  not  a  desirable  location  for  an  indus- 
try whose  source  of  supply  is  so  far  distant. 

Let  us,  however,  consider  the  other  elements  in  the  prob- 
lem. Pittsburg  lies  almost  equi-distant  from  the  great  markets 
of  the  East  and  West.  From  this  point,  under  present  condi- 
tions, the  majority  of  iron  and  steel  consumers  in  the  United 
States  can  be  most  easily  reached.  This  cannot  be  said  of  a  lo- 
cation at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  and,  according  to  the  rule  of 
freight  charges,  which  we  have  so  often  applied,  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  raw  material  is  usually  preferred  to  that  of  the 
finished  product.  But  there  are  other  reasons  for  the  pre-em- 
inence of  Pittsburg  as  an  iron  and  steel  center.  The  iron  in- 
dustry requires  large  supplies  of  coal  and  gas.  Pittsburg  is 
built  upon  a  coal  bed,  while  nearby  are  the  natural  gas  fields 
of  western  Pennsylvania.  Furthermore,  and  most  important 
of  all,  just  south  of  Pittsburg  lies  the  famous  Connellsville  coke 
region,  where,  from  a  basin  30  miles  long  by  3  wide,  the  coal  is 
mined,  out  of  which  nearly  all  the  coke  used  in  iron  smelting 
in  the  United  States  is  made. 

(183)  Coke 

It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  explain  that  coke  consists 
of  the  fixed  carbon  of  the  coal  with  some  of  the  carbon  con- 
tained in  the  volatile  matter.  It  is  manufactured  by  burning  a 
caking  coal  in  a  closed  receptacle  until  nearly  all  the  gas  has 
passed  off,  leaving  the  carbon  in  large  sponge-like  pieces  made 
up  of  myriads  of  little  carbon  cells,  and  greatly  increased  in 
bulk.  This  coke  makes  the  best  fuel  for  iron  smelting  for  rea- 
sons which  will  now  be  given.  Iron  ore,  as  we  saw,  is  com- 
posed of  rock  material  and  pure  iron  in  combination  with  oxy- 
gen. In  iron  smelting  the  object  is  to  free  the  iron  from  the 
oxygen  and  the  impurities  associated  with  it.  This  is  done  by 
mixing  with  the  iron  ore,  in  a  blast  furnace,  some  kind  of  fuel 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  165 

and  a  quantity  of  limestone  in  alternate  layers,  setting  the  mass 
on  fire,  and  forcing  a  blast  of  air  through  it  to  hasten  combus- 
tion. The  oxygen  is  released  during  the  process  of  burning, 
and  unites  with  the  carbon  in  the  fuel,  while  the  hmestone  melts 
and  unites  with  the  rock  material  in  the  iron  ore  forming  what 
is  known  as  slag.  The  iron  is  thus  set  free  and  becomes  liquid, 
gradually  sinking  to  the  bottom  of  the  furnace;  while  the  slag, 
being  lighter  than  the  molten  iron,  floats  on  top  of  the  iron.  At 
the  bottom  of  the  furnace,  at  periodical  intervals,  the  slag  and 
the  iron  can  thus  be  drawn  off  separately  and  the  iron  can  be 
run  into  sand  moulds  and  allowed  to  cool,  when  it  is  available 
for  use. 

(184)  Coke  as  Compared  with  Soft  Coal 

Now  coke  as  compared  with  soft  coal  makes  the  best  fuel 
for  this  purpose  of  iron  smelting  for  three  reasons:  (i)  It  does 
not  run  together  and  make  a  cake  as  does  soft  coal,  so  that  it 
offers  no  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  the  air  blast  up  through  the 
furnace;  (2)  it  retains  its  shape  in  the  furnace  and  holds  up  the 
great  weight  which  rests  upon  it,  thus  making  combustion  more 
perfect;  (3)  owing  to  its  cellular  structure  it  offers  a  greater 
burning  surface  and  so  produces  a  greater  heat  than  soft  coal. 
Hard  coal,  although  formerly  much  used,  is  now  so  expensive 
as  to  be  out  of  reach.  Connellsville  coke  is  by  far  the  best  and 
purest  coke  made,  and  Pittsburg  is  nearer  than  any  other  iron 
center  to  the  Connellsville  field.  Pittsburg  then,  at  the  present 
time,  is  the  place  at  which,  all  things  considered,  the  materials 
of  iron  and  steel  manufacture  can  be  most  cheaply  assembled, 
and  the  products  most  widely  and  cheaply  distributed.  Chi- 
cago, Cleveland  and  Buffalo  are  also  important  iron  centers, 
but  either  because  of  distance  from  large  markets  or  long  rail 
transportation  of  material,  they  have  not  attained  the  position 
that  Pittsburg  enjoys. 


SECTION  5. 
The  Organization  and  Management  of  Industry. 

(185)  Business  Geo^raLpKy 

In  the  study  of  Business  Geograpihy  we  are,  as  the  title  in- 
dicates, primarily  interested  in  the  physical  features  of  a  coun- 
try, its  soil,  climate,  rivers,  plains,  harbors  and  mountains.  In 
the  second  place,  and  following  the  study  of  these  basis  facts, 
we  discuss  the  manner  of  formation  and  growth,  and  the  loca- 
tion of  the  principal  raw  materials  that  are  derived  from  these 
natural  resources.  Third,  we  study  the  principles  which  deter- 
mine the  location  of  the  industries  depending  on  the  raw  ma- 
terials produced  from  these  resources.  At  this  point  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  subject  of  Business  Geography  is,  properly 
speaking,  concluded.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  interest,  however, 
to  understand  something  of  the  methods  of  organizing  the  col- 
lection of  these  raw  materials  at  the  centers  of  production,  the 
organization  and  management  of  the  manufacturing  plants 
converting  them  into  finished  products,  and  the  distribution  of 
the  products  to  the  consumer.  The  field  of  this  study  is  so 
immense,  including  as  it  does  the  whole  of  the  economic  pro- 
cess, that  only  an  outline  can  be  given  in  this  place. 

(186)  Raw  Materia-l  Collecied  slI  Wholesale  MsLrkeis  before  MeLnufaLCtured 

After  the  iron,  coal,  wheat  and  tobacco  have  been  pro- 
duced, they  must,  in  most  cases,  before  being  manufactured,  be 
collected  at  the  wholesale  markets.  Sometimes,  however,  as 
business  increases  in  size  and  extent  of  operations,  the  company 
operating  a  mill  or  factory  may  own  its  own  supplies  of  raw 
material;  in  this  case,  shipment  is  made  direct  from  the  source 
of  supply  to  the  mill,  without  the  intervention  of  middle-men 
or  the  previous  collection  of  the  material  at  central  markets  for 
distribution.  The  best  example  of  an  industry  which  has  the 
ownership  of  the  sources  of  raw  materials  is  furnished  by  the 

(170) 


AM'ERICAN  INDUSTRIES  171 

Carnegie  Company.  This  company  owns  its  iron  mines,  lime- 
stone quarries,  coal  fields,  natural  gas  fields  and  coke  ovens;  so 
that  it  has  to  purchase  no  one  of  its  materials  in  the  open  mar- 
ket and  the  only  transactions  involved  are  questions  of  book- 
keeping between  departments. 

The  Carnegie  Company,  now  a  part  of  the  so-called  Steel 
Trust,  has  gone  further  than  the  ownership  of  its  raw  materials, 
and  owns  the  boats  and  railroads  by  which  these  materials  are 
transported.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  the  advantage  of  these 
possessions  to  the  Carnegie  Company.  Suppose  that  they  were 
obliged  to  buy  in  the  open  market  the  materials  which  they  pro- 
duce. Two  unfavorable  consequences  would  result.  In  the 
first  place,  the  price  paid  must  be  higher  than  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, because  another  company  must  have  a  profit;  while, 
under  the  present  arrangement,  the  price  is  much  lower,  corre- 
sponding to  the  cost  of  production.  ^Moreover,  when  supplies 
must  be  bought  in  the  open  market,  there  are  all  the  disad- 
vantages of  irregular  and  iluctuating  prices  to  contend  with; 
while  when  the  sources  of  raw  material  are  controlled,  both 
price  and  supply  are  far  more  stable.  For  this  reason,  wher- 
ever it  is  possible,  the  policy  cf  large  companies  is  to  control 
their  own  supply  of  raw  materials.  Some  of  the  railroads  now 
own  their  own  coal  mines,  and  the  larger  paper  companies  own 
spruce  and  pine  forests.  In  most  cases,  however,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  control  the  raw  materials  because  their  production  is 
not  concentrated  as  in  mining  industry,  but  is  spread  over  a 
wide  area  of  territory,  and  distributed  among  a  multitude  of 
producers.  It  would  be  imj)Ossible,  for  example,  for  the  mill- 
ers to  own  their  own  wheat  lands,  or  for  the  cotton  manufac- 
ing  companies  to  own  their  own  cotton  fields.  Tlie  field  of  pro- 
duction of  most  of  the  raw  materials  is  too  vast  for  individual 
control  of  necessary  supplies. 

ri87)  Collection  of  R.8k.w  Materials 

It  is  important,  therefore,  that  these  products  should  be 
purchased  from  the  producer,  gathered  at  the  centers  of  indus- 
try, and  then  icut  out  to  the  manufacturer,  who  is,  it  may  be, 
located  in  the   same   city.     I'urthermore,   even   in   those   com- 


172  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

modities,  such  as  ore  and  coal,  in  which  control  by  large  com- 
panies is  possible,  it  is  uneconomical  for  the  numerous  smaller 
companies,  which  also  contribute  very  largely  to  the  product, 
to  own  their  suppHes  of  raw  material.  A  company  that  uses  a 
million  tons  of  ore  can  own  and  work  an  iron  mine  to  advant- 
age, but  not  so  with  an  iron  manufacturing  company  using  only 
50,000  tons  of  ore.  Again,  in  coal,  a  company  which  uses  200,- 
000  tons  can  work  a  coal  mine,  but  for  a  cotton  manufacturing 
company  using  only  10,000  tons  a  year,  there  is  no  advantage 
in  owning  its  source  of  supply. 

(188)  Method  of  Collection  of  R.aw  Material 

All  the  important  raw  materials  of  industry  then  must  be 
gathered  at  the  centers  of  production  before  they  are  distrib- 
uted to  those  who  work  them  up  into  the  finished  product.  The 
methods  of  collection  may  best  be  understood  by  a  concrete  ex- 
ample. Let  us  consider  the  method  of  collecting  grain  at  the 
central  market.  This  shipping  of  grain  takes  place  as  soon 
as  possible  after  harvest.  The  reason  is,  that  the  grain,  espec- 
ially wheat  and  oats,  when  it  is  threshed  out,  contains  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  moisture,  which  adds  sometimes  as  much  as 
10  per  cent,  to  its  weight  and  therefore  to  the  price  which  will 
be  paid  for  it;  while  if  kept  for  a  considerable  time  most  of  this 
moisture  is  lost.  On  this  account,  even  when  the  grower  is  not 
pressed  for  ready  money,  which  is  often  the  case,  he  is  anxious 
to  sell  his  wheat  as  soon  as  possible  in  order  to  get  the  ad- 
vantage of  extra  weight. 

(189)  The  Method  of  GraLin  Collection 

Throughout  the  grain-growing  region,  at  every  town  of 
any  importance,  is  to  be  found  an  elevator  for  the  reception 
and  storage  of  the  grain  that  is  brought  in  by  the  farmers  from 
the  surrounding  country.  (The  elevators  will  be  described  later 
on.)  These  local  elevators  are  sometimes  owned  by  the  rail- 
road companies;  sometimes  by  the  large  elevator  companies  at 
the  central  market;  and  sometimes  by  local  individuals.  The 
price  paid  for  his  grain,  to  the  farmer,  is  fixed  by  the  price  pre- 
vailing in  the  central  market,  on  the  day  of  sale,  less  the  cost  of 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  173 

transportation,  a  small  charge  for  handling  and  storing  and, 
sometimes,  when  it  is  necessary  to  borrow  money,  less  interest 
which  is  never  serious  and  which  varies  from  one  place  to  anoth- 
er. This  price  is  paid  the  farmer  in  cash.  The  local  firm,  either 
through  their  principals  in  the  central  market,  or  through 
agents,  sell  the  grain  in  the  central  market;  or  they  borrow  on 
its  security  at  their  bank.  The  grain  is  then  shipped  to  a  central 
market.  No  attempt  is  made  to  keep  the  lots  of  grain  separate 
after  they  leave  the  growers'  hands.  A'U  grain  is  shipped  in 
bulk.  Of  these  central  markets,  Chicago  is,  taking  an  average 
of  all  kinds  of  grain  handled,  the  most  important.  Other  grain 
centers  are  Duluth,  Minneapolis,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Peoria, 
Detroit  and  Toledo.  Of  these  centers  of  grain  collection,  Chi- 
cago is  slowly  losing  its  importance.  The  reasons  were  shown 
in  the  treatment  of  transportation  routes,  to  be  the  shift  of  the 
wheat  industry  to  the  north  and  the  shipment  of  corn  to  the 
Gulf  and  Southern  Atlantic  ports.  Mimieapolis  and  Duluth  are 
steadily  increasing  in  their  receipts  of  wheat.  These  cities  lie 
too  far  north  of  the  corn  and  oats  belt  to  get  much  of  those 
grains.  Peoria  is  increasing  its  importance  as  a  corn  center 
because  of  the  location  of  the  brewing  industry  at  that  point;  the 
other  cities  mentioned  are  losing  ground. 

(190)  The  ClaLSsific&tion  of  Wheat  at  Wheat  Centers 

All  grain  arriving  at  the  centers  is  graded  by  inspectors  act- 
mg  under  the  authority  of  the  state,  to  ascertain  the  quality  of 
each  car  of  grain,  and  to  assign  it  to  a  definite  grade  according 
to  which  it  must  be  sold.  The  inspectors  are  required  in  Illinois 
to  keep  a  record  of  each  car,  and,  if  a  consignee  is  dissatisfied 
with  the  grading  of  the  inspector,  he  is  allowed  a  new  inspector; 
after  which,  if  still  dissatisfied,  he  can  refer  the  matter  for  final 
decision  to  a  board  of  appeal  appointed  by  the  state.  The 
grades  of  spring  wheat  and  the  description  of  each  grade  are 
as  follows: 

No.  I,  Northern  Spring  Wheat,  must  be  northern 
grown  spring  wheat,  sound  and  reasonably 
clean,  and  of  good  milling  quality  and  must 


m  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

^  contain  not  less  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  hard 

varieties  of  spring  wheat. 
No.  2.     Northern  Spring — like  No.  i,  but  falling  below 

its  standard  of  cleanness  and  soundness.  It 

must  also  contain    50    per    cent,    of    hard 

wheat. 
No.  I.     Spring  Wheat — Must  be  sound,     plump     and 

well  cleaned. 
No.  2.     Spring  Wheat — Must  be    sound,     reasonably 

clean  and  of  good  milling  quality. 
No.  3.  Spring    Wheat — Includes     all    inferior,     dirty 

spring     wheat     weighing  not  less  than  53 

pounds  to  the  bushel. 
No.  4.     Sp'ring  Wheat — Includes     all     spring     wheat 

which    is    damp,    musty,     sprouted,  badly 

bleached,  or  for    any    cause    unfit    to    be 

classed  as  No.  3. 

(191)  The  AdvaLivtssLges  of  the  System 

The  foregoing  is  sufficient  to  show  the  general  principles 
of  classification  employed.  The  advantage  of  this  system  of 
inspection  and  grading  is  that  the  purchaser  of  wheat,  as  a  re- 
sult, does  not  have  to  concern  himself  with  the  quality  of  the 
wheat  he  buys.  He  purchases  wheat  of  a  certain  grade  and 
knows  exactly  what  he  is  buying,  although  he  may  never  see 
the  grain. 

In  the  Chicago  market  the  grain  was  formerly  sold  to 
commission  men,  that  is,  agents  who  handled  it  on  a  commis- 
sion; but  of  recent  years,  the  elevator  companies  buy  the  grain 
for  their  elevators  from  the  local  elevators  and  sometimes  from 
the  growers,  as  owners  of  the  local  elevators.  On  arriving  at 
the  center,  no  matter  by  whom  purchased,  the  grain  is  trans- 
ferred to  one  of  the  large  elevators  of  which  a  description  is 
as  follows: 

(192)  The  GraLin  Elevators 

The  usual  idea  of  a  grain  elevator  is  a  huge  bin  filled  to 
the  brim  with  grain.     This  is  not  exactly  correct.     The  ground 


^     OF  THE 

INIVERSITY 

OF 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  i77 

work  is  built  on  piles  sunk  deep  into  the  ground.  Stone  piers 
are  built  on  these  and  the  elevator  proper  is  built  on  the  piers. 
The  entire  structure,  with  the  exception  of  the  fire  wall,  separ- 
ate from  the  framework,  is  built  of  wood. 

On  the  ground  floor  are  long  tunnels  into  which  the  cars 
can  run  for  loading  or  unloading.  Above  this,  rise  tiers  of 
lofts,  each  capable  of  containing  6000  bushels  of  grain.  In  the 
Indiana  elevator  in  Chicago,  there  are  248  of  these  lofts,  or 
bins,  besides  52  smaller  receptacles.  The  entire  capacity  of  this 
elevator  is  1,500,000  bushels.  Taking  Armour  Elevator  D,  as 
another  example,  with  a  capacity  of  2,500,000  bushels,  we  find 
that  it  can  receive  and  weigh  300,000  bushels  per  day,  75  men 
being  all  that  are  required  to  operate  this  large  elevator.  The 
machinery  of  the  elevator  is  driven  by  a  compound  engine  of 
1200  horse  power.  The  grain  cars  are  unloaded  by  means  of 
large  scoop  shovels  operated  by  steam  power.  The  main  driv- 
ing belt  is  250  ft.  long  by  5  ft.  wide  and  rises  from  the  bottom 
to  the  top'  of  the  building,  where  the  main  counter  shaft  is  lo- 
cated. Along  this  counter  shaft  are  pulleys  carrying  8-inch 
rubber  belts  bearing  steel  buckets,  which  carry  the  grain  to  the 
top  of  the  structure,  to  the  weighing  bins,  and  descend  empty 
on  the  other  side.  The  grain  boats  are  unloaded  by  elevators 
which  can  be  let  down  into  the  hold.  The  grain  when  dis- 
charged falls  through  chutes,  or  covered  wooden  troughs,  to 
the  main  body  of  the  elevator,  whence  it  is  directed  by  other 
chutes  to  any  desired  point.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of 
a  chute  rotating  on  a  vertical  axis,  the  prolongation  of  which 
would  pass  through  the  lower  mouth.  Thus  when  swinging 
around  on  a  pivot,  its  receiving  mouth  remains  stationary. 
Around  the  covered  end  are  ranged  the  mouths  of  other  chutes, 
each  numbered  to  correspond  with  a  particular  bin.  In  this 
way  one  elevator  is  made  to  feed  a  number  of  bins.  Below  the 
chutes  come  the  garners,  and  below  these  the  scale  bins,  each 
having  a  capacity  of  1000  bushels.  All  garners  and  bins  are 
made  with  sloping  sides  to  allow  all  of  the  grain  to  escape. 
The  grain  is  weighed  twice;  once  on  its  receipt  and  once  on 
its  discharge,  each  weighing  necessitating  an  elevation  to  the 
top  of  the  building.  The  identity  of  particular  lots  of  grain 
can  easily  be  preserved.      Boats    are    unloaded    by    elevators 


178  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

which  can  be  swung  out  from  the  main  structure  into  the  hold. 
The  loading  is  done  by  means  of  spouts  as  already  described. 
In  1898  Chicago  had  eleven  "regular"  warehouses  with  a  total 
capacity  of  28,000,000  bushels,  four  of  which  were  owned  by 
railway  companies. 

(193)  The  Brokerage  a-nd  Storage  Charges 

The  charges  for  storage  are  as  follows:  3-4  cent  per  bushel 
for  the  first  ten  days  and  1-3  cent  per  bushel  for  each  succeeding 
day.  The  buyer  who. stores  grain  in  an  elevator  receives  a  cer- 
tificate calling  for  a  certain  amount  of  a  certain  grain.  This  cer- 
tificate represents  wheat  and  is  dealt  in  as  such.  The  charges 
for  selling  grain  are  as  follows: 

Rye,  wheat  and  barley  on  consignment  in 

car  load  lots   i  cent  per  bushel. 

Corn 1-2  cent  per  bushel. 

The  brokerage  charges  for  buying  and  selling  all  kinds  of 
grain  are  $1.25  1-2  per  thousand  bushels.  The  existence  of 
large  supplies  of  a  product  which  is  either  on  hand  or  expected 
shortly  to  arrive,  which  is  wanted  at  different  times  in  the  fu- 
ture, and  which  is  constantly  ofifered  for  sale,  has  built  np  a 
great  business  of  buying  and  selling  grain,  or,  as  it  is  called, 
grain  speculation.  This  is  conducted  in  many  large  cities,  but 
principally  in  Chicago.  Those  who  are  engaged  in  it  form  a 
regular  association,  called  a  Board  of  Trade  or  Produce  Ex- 
change, with  definite  rules  of  procedure,  according  to  which  all 
transactions  must  be  conducted.  The  elevator  companies  of 
Chicago  have  numerous  representatives  on  the  Board  of  Trade; 
and,  in  addition  to  these,  a  large  number  of  other  firms  carry 
on  the  business  of  buying  and  selling  grain  and  other  produce. 
These  dealers  and  the  outside  public  who  deal  through  them  as 
agents,  are  divided  into  two  parties — those  who  believe  that 
the  price  of  grain  will  rise  and  those  who  expect  it  to  fall.  The 
first  class  are  called  "bulls"  and  the  second,  "bears."  The  bulls 
are  always  buyers  of  grain  and  the  bears  are  sellers.  A  man  is 
a  "bull"  or  a  "bear"  on  the  market  according  to  the  state  of  his 
conditions  at  a  particular  moment,  and  may  change  sides  sev- 
eral times  during  a  day. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  170 

(194)  "  Futures  " 

A  "future"  in  grain  is  the  right  to  receive  or  the  obHgation 
to  dehver  a  certain  quantity  of  grain,  usually  counted  in  lots  of 
1000  bushels  each,  at  some  date  agreed  upon  in  the  contract. 
The  man  who  believes  that  grain  will  rise,  buys  grain  to  re- 
ceive it,  say  in  30  days;  and  the  man  who  believes  that  the  price 
of  grain  will  fall,  sells  grain  agreeing  to  deliver  it  on  a  future 
date.  If  the  price  of  grain  rises,  all  those  who  have  purchased 
at  a  lower  price  make  the  difference  between  the  price  on  the 
day  of  purchase  and  the  price  on  the  day  of  settlement;  while, 
if  the  price  of  wheat  falls,  say  from  90  cents  to  80  cents,  those 
who  have  agreed  to  deliver,  say  1000  bushels  at  go  cents  per 
bushel,  are  able  to  buy  in  the  grain  for  delivery  at  10  cents  less 
than  the  price  they  receive  for  it,  and  make  the  difference. 

(195)  Advantage  of  Buying  ecnd  Selling  Futures 

This  practice  of  buying  and  selling  futures  in  produce  and 
merchandise  of  different  kinds  is  of  great  advantage  to  both 
producer  and  consumer,  because  it  results  in  the  establishment 
of  a  daily  price  which  represents  the  opinions  of  those  best 
qualified  to  judge,  of  what  should  be,  in  the  existing  state  of 
the  market,  account  being  taken  of  all  influences  affecting  either 
supplv  or  demand — such  as  size  of  crops  in  different  parts  of 
the  world,  famines,  wars,  high  rates  of  interest,  etc. — any  cause 
influencing  either  the  amount  of  grain  for  sale  or  the  need  of 
it  and  the  amount  of  money  available  to  satisfy  that  need.  All 
these  influences  are  taken  into  account  by  the  produce  ex- 
changes and  reflected  in  the  price  of  wheat.  Both  producer 
and  consumer,  therefore,  can  know  exactly  what  the  value  of 
wheat  is  and  also  w-hat  it  is  likely  to  be  in  the  future,  and  can 
make  their  plans  accordingly.  Moreover,  the  operations  of  the 
produce  exchanges  prevent  the  fluctuations  in  prices  from  being 
as  violent  as  they  would  be  in  the  absence  of  such  a  regulating 
influence.  Without  the  produce  exchanges  and  the  operations 
of  speculation,  when  the  supply  of  wheat  was  excessive,  the 
price  would  fall  far  below  the  cost  of  production;  wheat  would 
be  a  drug  on  the  market,  and  the  excess  supply  would  be  used 
up  for  stock  feeding,  distilling,  or  starch  making,  which  the  low 
11 


i8o  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

price  of  wheat  would  permit.  The  farmers,  having  suffered  a 
heavy  loss  on  wheat,  would  largely  abandon  wheat  raising  and 
turn  to  other  crops.  Next  year,  as  a  result  of  a  decreased 
acreage  or  unfavorable  season,  the  wheat  yield  might  be  as 
much  below  the  average  as  the  yield  of  the  previous  year  was 
above  it.  The  large  crop  of  the  previous  year  has  been  used 
up  or  wasted.  No  supply  remains  on  hand.  The  demand  for 
wheat  is  as  great  as  ever,  and  there  is  only  a  small  supply  to 
meet  the  demand.  From  a  low  figure,  the  price  of  wheat  would 
then  rise  to  an  exorbitant  rate,  injuring  the  consumer  by  a  high 
price  of  bread,  and  disarranging  all  business  depending  on  the 
wheat  fields  for  its  supply.  These  wide  fluctuations  are  pre- 
vented by  the  presence  of  a  large  body  of  men  who  are  always 
looking  to  the  future  for  their  profits,  and  who  make  their  plans 
accordingly. 

If  the  suppJy  of  wheat  is  in  excess  this  year,  they  know 
that  next  year  there  may  be  a  deficiency  with  higher  prices;  and 
so  they  buy  wheat  freely  and  keep  the  price  from  falling  so 
much  as  it  would  fall  in  the  absence  of  the  restraining  influence 
of  increased  demand;  also  insuring  a  reserve  supply  of  wheat 
when  the  lean  years  arrive.  On  the  other  hand,  when,  for  any 
reason,  the  price  is  unusually  high,  the  wheat  speculators  know 
that  lower  prices  will  probably  prevail  in  the  future,  and  so 
they  sell  wheat  for  future  delivery,  thus  keeping  down  its  price. 
This  dealing  in  futures  serves  a  double  purpose.  It  carries 
over  the  surplus  stocks  of  good  years  to  make  good  the  defi- 
ciencies of  poor  years,  and  it  keep^s  the  price  of  wheat  from 
wide  fluctuations,  which  are  always  disastrous.  It  is  by  deal- 
ing in  futures  also  that  dealers  and  manufacturers  can  protect 
themselves  against  loss.  Suppose  a  miller  in  Albany,  on  the 
first  of  August,  wishes  to  have  lo.ooo  bushels  of  Minnesota 
wheat  delivered  at  his  mill  on  September  first.  He  buys  10,000 
bushels  in  the  Minneapolis  market,  and  it  is  shipped  down  the 
lakes,  taking  a  month  to  make  the  trip.  If  the  price  of  wheat 
falls  5  cents  per  bushel  during  the  month,  the  miller  sufifers  a 
loss  on  his  purchase  because  the  price  of  flour  falls  also.  In 
order  to  protect  himself,  he  sells  10,000  bushels  of  wheat  in  the 
Chicago  market,  deliverable  September  first.  If,  now,  the  price 
falls  5  cents  per  bushel,  the  miller  loses  on  his  purchase  of  grain. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  i8i 

if  he  has  bought  it  at  $i.oo  per  bushel,  $500.00,  but  he  gains  the 
same  amount  in  his  future  sale,  because  he  is  able  to  buy  the 
wheat  that  he  sold  at  $1.00.  at  95  cents.  The  gain  on  the  one 
transaction  balances  the  loss  on  the  other  and  the  miller  can 
make  his  expected  profit  on  his  flour.  We  hear  a  great  deal  of 
discussion  about  the  evils  of  grain  speculation,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  many  people,  who  without  much  knowledge  or  ex- 
perience attempt  to  forecast  the  future  of  the  produce  market, 
suffer  severe  losses,  but  in  spite  of  these  unfortunate  practices, 
the  operations  of  produce  exchanges  result  in  great  benefit  to 
the  community, 

(196)  Methods  Employed  for  Grain  Typica.1  of  those  used  in  other  Industries 

The  methods  employed  for  the  collection  of  the  product  in 
the  grain  trade  are  typical  of  those  in  vogue  in  several  other  in- 
dustries. Live  stock  is  collected  in  practically  the  same  way, 
although  the  purchase  by  the  packing  industry  at  the  central 
markets  is  after  individual  inspection.  The  methods  of  dealing 
in  meat  products  are  substantially  identical  with  those  employed 
in  the  grain  trade,  and  the  operations  are  conducted  on  the 
same  exchange.  Cotton  and  cof¥ee  are  graded  and  traded  in 
on  the  exchanges.  Petroleum  is  bought  and  sold  by  means  of 
pipe  line  certificates,  which  are  titles  to  given  quantities  of 
crude  oil  in  the  pipe  lines  or  storage  tanks  of  the  transportation 
companies.  As  a  general  rule,  wherever  a  commodity  is  so 
uniform  in  quality  that  it  can  be  handled  in  large  masses  after 
suitable  inspection;  and  wherever  the  necessity  of  keeping  par- 
ticular lots  separate  does  not  interfere  with  the  establishment 
of  a  definite  market  price  that  applies  without  distinction  to 
every  barrel,  bushel,  pound,  or  bale  of  a  given  commoditv,  the 
method  of  warehousing  and  dealing  that  has  been  described 
can  be  followed. 

On  the  other  hand,  wherever  the  conmiodity  is  not  uniform 
in  quality,  as,  for  example,  wool,  where  each  state,  and  some- 
times each  ranch,  produces  a  product  widely  differing  from  the 
wool  of  other  localities;  or  in  the  case  of  lumber,  or  leather,  or 
fruit — wherever,  in  short,  the  buyer  must  see  the  goods  before 
he  purchases,  then,  although  the  method  of  collection  into 
wholesale  markets  and  the  methods  of  warehousing  closely  re- 


i82  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

semble  those  we  have  described,  there  can  be  no  great  uniform- 
ity of  quality  and  price,  nor  any  degree  of  "future"  dealing. 
The  price  of  such  articles  must  vary  within  wider  limits  than 
those  of  uniform  quality,  and  the  expense  of  handling  is  much 
greater,  since  those  who  purchase  these  products  and  hold 
them  for  sale  must  be  reimbursed  for  the  risk  which  they  take 
in  carrying  commodities  of  uncertain  quality  and  irregular 
price. 

The  Collection  of  Live  Stock 

(197)  Methods  Employed  in  Collection  of  Live  Stock 

The  methods  employed  in  the  collection  of  live  stock  also 
illustrate  the  general  practice  in  the  collection  of  materials. 
The  cattle  industry,  whose  location  has  already  been  discussed, 
is  thoroughly  organized  even  down  to  the  fattening  of  the  stock. 
A  farmer  in  Nebraska  wishes  to  buy  lOO  head  of  cattle  and 
keep  them  over  the  winter.  The  cattle  are  worth  in  their  pres- 
ent condition,  $2000.  The  farmer  has  the  corn,  and  the  shed 
and  yard  room.  He  goes  to  a  cattle  broker  and  borrows  $2000, 
giving  the  cattle  as  security.  The  cattle  broker  immediately 
sells  this  note  to  a  bank,  taking  a  commission  for  negotiating 
the  transaction.  The  farmer  buys  the  cattle,  keeps  them  ovei 
winter  and  sells  them  for  $3500,  turning  $500  worth  of  corn 
into  $1000  worth  of  beef.  No  one  in  this  transaction  takes  any 
great  risk;  the  broker  and  banker  are  each  protected  by  the 
fact  that  the  cattle  are  put  in  as  security  at  a  minimum  valua- 
tion, and  that,  as  their  weight  increases,  the  margin  of  safety 
increases  also.  Commission  dealers  have  men  constantly  on 
the  road  inspecting  cattle  for  new  loans  or  to  see  that  their 
security  is  being  properly  taken  care  of.  Sometimes  money  is 
loaned  not  only  to  buy  cattle,  but  to  buy  feed  for  the  cattle, 
in  which  case  the  risk  is  greater,  although,  even  here,  there  is 
an  ample  margin  of  security. 

(198)  Me8Lt  TraLde 

In  taking  up  now  the  meat  trade  proper,  we  have  to  con- 
sider three  things: 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  183 

1.  The  sources  of  supply,  which  I  have     already     re- 

viewed at  length. 

2.  The  centers  of  concentration;  where  the  surplus  live 

stock  is  gathered  and  from  which  it  is  distributed. 

3.  The  distribution  of  the  meat  from  the  central  mar- 

ket. 
The  sources  of  cattle  supply  are  as  follows: 

1.  Texas,  Oklahoma  and  Indian  Territory,  the  south- 

ern grazing  areas,  where  the  ranch     system     still 
predominates; 

2.  Western  ranches,  Wyoming,  Montana,  the  Dakotas, 

and  Colorado; 

3.  Feeding  states — Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Iowa, 

Illinois,  Indiana,  Tennessee  and     also     Michigan 
and  Wisconsin  (southern  part). 

The  relation  between  these  sections  has  already  been  fully 
indicated.  The  grazing  states  raise  the  cattle  and  the  feeding 
states  put  on  the  flesh. 

(199)  Concentration  a-t  the  Distributing  Centers 

We  next  take  up  the  question  of  concentration  at  the  dis- 
tributing centers,  discussing  this  question  in  relation  to  hogs 
and  sheep  as  well  as  cattle.  The  farmer  usually  ships  directly 
to  the  central  markets  or  sells  to  local  buyers.  The  stock  is 
shipped  from  the  local  stock  yards,  which  consist  of  small  yards 
with  chutes,  or  inclined  run  ways;  up  these  chutes  and  into  the 
cars  the  stock  is  driven.  Fifty  hogs  make  a  car  load,  hogs 
being  shipped  mainly  in  double  deck  cars.  Fifteen  to  eighteen 
cattle  make  a  car  load,  and  are  packed  as  closely  as  possible, 
there  being  danger  that  the  cattle  will  be  trampled  to  death  if 
they  lie  down.  All  live  stock,  when  the  distance  is  more  than 
one  day's  travel  and  when  the  local  accommodation  trains  will 
not  suffice,  is  brought  in  on  stock  trains.  The  regular  stock 
trains  make  very  good  time.  On  the  roads  in  the  Northwest 
cattle  trains  are  given  the  right  of  way.  Every  regard  is  paid 
to  the  shipper  to  make  sure  that  his  cattle  get  through  in  good 
condition.  Stock  may  even  be  unloaded  and  rested  at  certain 
points,  and  is  regularly  fed  and  watered.  The  shipper  is  al- 
lowed to  send  his  men  along  with  his  stock  and  free  transpor- 
tation is  given  to  return.  The  attendants  help  each  other,  as 
for  example  w'ith  hogs,  which  are  given  to  piling  up  in  the  car. 


i84  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

(200)  The  Method  of  Loading  and  VnloaLding  Stock 

As  a  rule,  the  stock  is  shipped  to  commission  men  at  the 
various  centers,  where  it  is  dealt  in  at  live  stock  exchanges. 
The  stockman  very  rarely  consigns  to  himself,  but  he  keeps 
well  posted  as  to  the  market.  Only  the  commission  men  and 
the  agents  are  admitted  to  the  live  stock  exchange.  When  the 
stock  gets  into  the  yard  it  is  taken  in  charge  by  the  yard 
people,  who  unload,  weigh  and  register  according  to  brand, 
breed,  owner,  etc.  Anyone  wishing  to  buy  has  access  to  these 
registers,  and  they  are  made  the  basis  of  all  transactions.  The 
agent  or  commission  man  has  entire  control  and  can  refuse  to 
sell  if  the  price  does  not  suit  him.  When  the  cattle  come  into 
the  yards,  they  come  along  a  platform  elevated  to  the  level  of 
the  car  door.  This  platform  chutes  into  yards,  from  which  the 
cattle  go  into  the  receiving  pens.  Before  they  enter  the  yards, 
however,  they  are  carefully  inspected  by  the  government  offi- 
cials. All  dead  or  maimed  animals  are  hauled  out  on  the  plat- 
form and  reported.  Any  traces  of  disease,  such  as  Texas  Fever 
or  lumpy  jaw,  causes  the  whole  consignment  to  be  condemned. 
The  yards  are  subdivided  into  localities  for  the  different  breeds 
of  animals,  and  these  are  again  divided  into  blocks.  Between 
all  parts  of  the  yards  there  is  a  perfect  system  of  communica- 
tion. 

(201)  Methods  Employed  in  Dealing,  Kules  of  Inspection  eLnd  TraLdin^ 

The  methods  employed  in  dealing  in  the  stock  at  the  yard, 
with  the  rules  of  inspection,  are  as  follows:  A  representative 
of  the  company,  that  is  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  is  there  and 
makes  a  note  of  this,  say,  in  chute  pen  number  i6,  C.  B.  &  Q., 
car  25,634,  twenty  cattle  to  A.  Rosenbaum  &  Company,  that 
being  the  name  of  the  commission  merchants  to  whom  the  stock 
is  consigned.  All  stock  is  consigned  to  commission  merchants 
for  selling  rather  than  directly  to  the  buyers.  A  representative 
of  Rosenbaum  &  Company  now  goes  to  chute  pen  number  16 
and  takes  the  cattle  therein  enclosed  to  some  one  of  the  pens 
assigned  to  his  company,  giving  a  check  to  the  Union  Stock 
Company  of  pen  number  16,  in  block  D,  pen  number  2.  In  this 
way  a  complete  record  of  the  cattle  is  kept.  Here  the  cattle 
remain  until  the  next  morning,  when  the  buyers  of  the  big  pack- 


AMERICAN  IN'DUSTRIES  187 

ing  houses  come  out  to  inspect  them.  There  they  meet  with 
the  seller  from  Rosenbaum  &  Company.  When  they  finally 
agree  upon  a  price,  the  cattle  are  weighed  by  a  man  who  is 
under  oath  to  the  Union  Stock  Yard  Company  not  to  favor 
either  the  buyer  or  the  seller.  The  weigh  master  writes  or 
makes  four  copies  of  the  record  of  the  weight,  etc.,  of  each 
draught  of  animals  passed  over  the  scales,  one  of  such  records 
being  in  his  permanent  record  book;  the  other  consists  of  the 
detachable  fac-simile  reference  record  for  the  use  of  the  buyer's 
helpers  at  the  scales.  This  second  record  is  placed  on  file  for  in- 
spection, thereby  avoiding  interference  with  the  weigh  master's 
book,  and  the  third  and  fourth  copies  are  fac-simile  certificates 
issued  respectively  to  the  buyer  and  seller;  one  of  these  certifi- 
cates forms  the  basis  of  the  buyer's  accounts,  and  the  other, 
the  basis  of  the  seller's  accounts. 

Thus  each  of  the  parties  interested  may  possess  an  official 
fac-simile  of  the  scale  record  in  which  the  weights  shown  are 
copied  directly  from  the  scale  beam,  the  four  copies  being  sim- 
ultaneously produced  by  the  same  stroke  of  the  pencil  under 
the  hand  of  the  authorized  weigh  master  who  did  the  weighing, 
and  each  bearing  his  official  signature.  In  this  way  a  vast 
amount  of  labor  is  avoided,  and  the  work  is  much  more  accur- 
ate as  well,  since  all  of  the  copies  must  of  necessity  be  alike,  no 
transfers  being  made,  and  all  discrepancies  and  transpositions 
being  avoided. 

(202)  Charges  for  Stock  While  in  the  Yards 

The  cattle  are  now  taken  to  the  pens  of  the  buyer,  where 
they  await  slaughter.  For  unloading,  weighing  and  taking  care 
of  the  stock  while  in  the  yards,  the  Union  Stock  Company 
charge  25  cents  per  head  for  cattle,  15  cents  per  head  for  calves, 
8  cents  per  head  for  hogs,  and  5  cents  per  head  for  sheep.  This 
covers  all  charges  except  feeding  as  long  as  the  cattle  re- 
main in  the  pens;  but  it  is  naturally  the  object  of  the  commis- 
sion merchants  to  sell  their  cattle  as  soon  as  possible,  thereby 
avoiding  shrinkage.  The  price  charged  for  feed  is:  Timothy 
hay,  $30  per  ton;  ordinary  hay,  $20  per  ton;  corn,  $1  per  bushel. 
The  original  price  includes  watering. 


i88  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

All  sales  are  "word  of  honor  sales,"  as  the  saying  is,  there 
being  no  document  to  compel  the  buyer  or  the  seller  to  carry 
out  his  agreement;  because  the  sales  are  usually  made  long  be- 
fore the  weighing  takes  place,  and  the  original  buyer  and  seller 
are  usually  not  present  at  the  weighing,  so  that  there  is  room 
for  dishonesty;  but  this  rarely,  if  ever,  occurs. 

(203)  CKic8L^o  Live  Stock  ExcKaLivge 

The  Chicago  Live  Stock  Exchange  is  organized  very  sim- 
ilarly to  other  exchanges,  establishing  the  minimum  commis- 
sion rates,  rules  for  buying  and  selling,  etc.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  the  rules  for  trading,  commission  rates,  cattle  inspection 
and  rules  governing  the  humane  handling  of  live  stock: 

(204)  Commissioners  and  Solicitors 

Section  i.  The  commission  for  selling  live  stock 
shall  not  be  less  than  the  following  named  rates: 

Section  2.  Fifty  cents  per  head  for  cattle  of  all 
ages,  up  to  $12  per  carload;  provided,  that  veal  calves 
in  less  than  car  lots  shall  be  charged  not  less  than  25 
cents  per  head.  Double  deck  cars  of  calves,  $18  per 
double  deck. 

Section  3.  Six  dollars  per  carload  for  single  deck 
carloads  of  hogs  or  sheep,  or  hogs  and  sheep,  and  $10 
per  carload  for  double  deck  carloads  of  the  same. 
When  part  of  a  car  is  double  decked  and  loaded  with 
hogs  or  sheep,  or  hogs  and  sheep,  the  commission  for 
selling  such  fractional  upper  deck  shall  be  15  cents  per 
head  up  to  $10  per  carload. 

Section  4.  Forty  head  or  more  of  hogs  or  sheep, 
or  hogs  and  sheep,  arriving  at  these  yards  in  a  single 
deck  car  shall  not  be  considered  as  a  mixed  car,  but 
shall  constitute  one  carload  to  be  charged  $6.  For 
stock  arriving  at  these  yards  in  less  than  carload  lots, 
50  cents  per  head  for  cattle,  25  cents  per  head  for 
calves,  under  forty  head  of  hogs  or  sheep,  15  cents  per 
head. 

Section  5.  Different  species  of  live  stock  in  a  sin- 
gle car: 

Cattle  per  head,  up  to_$i2.oo  per  carload $  -50 

Calves  per  head,  up  to  $12.00  per  single  deck  carload    .25 

Hogs  per  'head,  up  to  $6.00  per  single  deck  car 15 

Sheep  per  head,  up  to  $6.00  per  single  deck  car 15 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  189 

The  commission  on  mixed  live  stock  shall  be  gov- 
erned by  this  section  up  to  a  charge  of  $12.00  per  sin- 
gle deck  carload,  and  $18.00  per  double  deck  carload. 

When  part  of  a  car  is  double  decked  and  loaded 
with  hogs,  or  sheep,  or  calves,  the  commission  for  sell- 
ing such  fractional  upper  deck  shall  be  at  the  rates 
herein  established  for  selling  single  decks  of  mixed 
stock. 

Section  6.  The  connnission  for  purchasing  live 
stock  shall  not  be  less  than  the  following  named  rates: 
Stocker  and  feeder,  cattle,  including  calves,  per  head, 
but  not  to  exceed  $10.00  per  carload  unless  the  parties 
in  connection  with  a  loan  or  advancement,  agree  to 
pay  per  head,  without  regard  to  the  number  consti- 
tuting a  carload  lot $  -SO 

Stock  and  feeding  sheep  and  lambs,  per  single  deck 

carload 6.00 

Stock  and  feeding  sheep  and  lambs,  per  double  deck 
carload 10.00 

(205)  Trading 

Section  i.  Members  of  this  Exchange  or  their  em- 
ployes in  consummating  the  purchase  or  sale  of  live 
stock  on  this  market,  shall  agree  upon  all  the  terms  of 
the  trade  at  the  time  the  sale  is  effected,  and  in  no  case 
shall  any  deduction,  change  or  ofifset  of  any  nature 
whatsoever  be  claimed  or  allowed  other  than  such  as  is 
specified  and  agreed  upon  by  and  between  the  princi- 
pals at  the  time  the  trade  is  made.  Nothing  herein 
contained  shall  be  construed  as  in  any  way  affecting  or 
abrogating  any  rule  now  in  force. 

Section  2.  The  responsibility  of  the  seller,  as  re- 
gards the  condition  and  inspection  of  live  stock,  shall 
cease  on  all  live  stock  sold  at  tliese  yards  as  soon  as 
said  live  stock  shall  have  been  driven  from  the  scales, 
except  as  provided  in  Section  i  of  this  rule. 

(206)  Cattle  Inspection 

Section  i.  No  member  or  members  of  this  Ex- 
change shall  buy,  sell  or  dispose  of,  or  weigh  to  any 
purchaser  thereof,  or  cause  to  be  bought,  sold  or  dis- 
posed of,  or  weighed  to  any  purchaser  thereof,  any  ani- 
mal apparently  affected  with  actinomycosis,  commonly 
called  lump-jaw,  or  having  any  lump  or  swelling  upon 
the  head  or  neck,  until  the  said  animal  has  been  in- 


190  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

spected  by  the  State  Veterinarian  or  Assistant  State 
Veterinarian;  and  such  inspection  shall  be  made  prior 
to  the  time  when  such  animal  is  weig^hed,  or,  if  not 
weighed,  then  before  it  is  delivered.  Only  such  ani- 
mals as  the  veterinarian  shall  pronounce  to  be  free 
from  the  said  disease  shall  be  accepted  and  paid  for 
by  any  member  who  may  have  purchased  the  same. 
In  case  of  failure  of  purchaser,  seller  or  veterinarian  to 
note  such  diseased  animal  or  animals  before  or  at  the 
time  of  weighing,  then  such  animal  or  animals  shall  be 
at  purchaser's  risk. 

Section  2.  Members  of  this  Exchange  having  pos- 
session or  control  of  any  animal  or  animals  apparently 
afifected  with  the  said  disease,  or  having  any  lump  or 
swelling  upon  the  head  or  neck,  shall  call  on  the  State 
Veterinarian  for  inspection  of  such  animal  or  animals; 
and  if  upon  such  inspection  such  animal  is  found  to  be 
free  from  disease  the  member  or  members  having  such 
possession  or  control  may  proceed  to  sell  or  deliver 
said  animal  in  t'he  regular  course  of  business ;  and  said 
animal  shall  be  accepted  by  any  member  purchasing, 
or  who  may  have  purchased  the  same.  If  such  animal 
shall  not  be  so  passed  nor  found  free  from  disease,  but 
either  shall  be  condemned  by  said  Veterinarian  or  As- 
sistant State  Veterinarian,  or  shall  upon  such  inspec- 
tion, alive  or  upon  foot,  be  deemed  doubtful  by  him, 
such  animal  shall  not  be  bought,  sold  nor  otherwise 
disposed  of  by  any  member  of  this  Exdhange,  on  foot 
or  alive,  nor  shall  the  carcass  of  such  animal,  nor  any 
part  thereof,  be  bought,  sold,  or  in  any  wise  disposed 
of  by  any  member  of  this  Exchange,  unless  and  until 
there  has  been  a  post-mortem  examination  thereof  by 
said  Veterinarian  and  the  said  carcass  has  been  by  said 
Veterinarian,  after  such  examination,  deemed  and  de- 
clared to  be  healthy  and  fit  for  food. 

Section  3.  Any  member  convicted  of  a  violation  of 
this  rule  shall  be  fined  $50  for  each  animal  so  bought, 
sold  or  disposed  of  by  him  or  his  agents  before  in- 
spection. 

(207)  Governing  Humane  Handling  of  Live  Stock 

Section  i.  Any  member  of  this  Exchange  having  in 
his  employ  any  person  who  may  be  found  guiltv  of 
striking,  pounding  or  prodding  any  animal  in  the  Un- 
ion Stock  Yards  of  Chicago,  thereby  crippling,  bruis- 


AMF.RICAN  IN'DUSTRIES  tgi 

ing  or  damaging  such  animal,  shall  be  fined  ten  dollars 
■  ($10.00)  for  each  offense,  two  dollars  ($2.00)  of  which 
fine  shall  go  to  the  party  furnishing  sufficient  evidence 
to  secure  a  conviction  and  eight  dollars  ($8.00)  of  said 
fine  to  be  covered  into  the  Treasury  of  the  Exchange. 
Section  2.  Any  employee  of  any  member  of  this 
Exchange  who  may  be  convicted  of  a  violation  of  this 
rule,  shall  not  be  employed  by  any  member  of  this  Ex- 
change, for  thirty  days  next  succeeding  the  date  of 
such  conviction. 

Section.  3.  Any  member  of  this  Exchange  who  is 
not  an  employee  who  may  be  found  guilty  of  striking, 
pounding  or  prodding  any  animal  in  the  Union  Stock 
Yards  of  Chicago,  thereby  crippling,  bruising  or  dam- 
aging such  animal,  shall  be  fined  twenty  dollars  ($20.00) 
for  each  offense,  five  dollars  ($5.00)  of  which  fine  shall 
go  to  the  party  furnishing  evidence  to  secure  a  con-  ■ 
viction,  and  fifteen  dollars  ($15.00)  of  said  fine  shall  be 
covered  into  the  Treasury  of  the  Exchange. 

(208)  Centers  of  Distribution  and  Packing 

The  centers  of  distribution  and  packing  are  as  follows:  Chi- 
cago, Kansas  City,  Omaha,  St.  Louis  and  St.  Joseph,  the  last 
four  having  developed  since  i860,  while  Chicago  first  achieved 
prominence  during  the  war.  In  1899,  the  total  receipts  of  cat- 
tle at  these  five  centers  were  6,615,000;  of  hogs,  16,872,000;  and 
of  sheep,  6,492,000.  Of  these,  the  quotas  received  by  the  dif- 
ferent cities  were  as  follows  in  1900: 

Cattle,  Hogs.  Sheep. 

Chicago   2,729,000         8,109,000         3,548,000 

Kansas  City  ....    1,969,000         3,094,000  860,000 

Omaha  .. . '. 828,000         2,200,926         1,276,775 

St.   Louis   698,000         1,791,000  416,000 

St.  Joseph 380,000        1,678,000  290,000 

6,604,000  16.872,926        6,390,775 

In  1884  the  receipts  were  as  follows: 

Chicago   1,817,000  5,351,000            801,000 

Kansas  City 533,ooo  1,723,000            237,000 

Omaha 

St.  Louis   390,000  1,079,000            277.000 

St.  Joseph 

2,740,000         8,153,000         1,315,000 


ig2  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

It  can  thus  be  seen  that  Chicago  is  falHng  off  in  compar- 
ison with  the  Missouri  River  markets.  Of  these  Kansas  City 
and  St.  Louis  stand  nearest  to  the  southwestern  cattle  supply 
and  Omaha  and  St.  Joseph  stand  nearest  to  the  northwestern 
ranges  and  to  the  sheep  supply.  These  four  cities  are  in  the 
corn  belt.  (Explain  again  how  they  gather  up  the  cattle  in  the 
summer  and  distribute  them  out  through  the  corn  belt,  gather- 
ing them  in  again  in  the  spring.)  This  explains  why  Chicago  is 
losing  importance  as  a  receiving  center.  Chicago,  however, 
still  retains  its  pre-eminence  as  a  shipping  point  for  dressed 
meats,  because  nearly  all  the  railroads  converge  at  that  point. 
There  is  little  gained  on  this  account,  however,  by  the  industries 
of  that  city,  because  the  meat  sent  from  the  West  goes  right 
through,  being  put  up  in  its  final  form  in  the  Western  packing 
centers. 


SECTION  6 


Organization  and  Management   of  Industry  (Continued) 

(209)  SpecializaLtion  of  Industry 

The  first  question  is,  what  industry  shall  be  chosen?  The 
discussion  of  the  causes  which  influence  men  to  go  into  busi- 
ness, however,  belongs  to  the  province  of  Corporation  Finance 
and  has  been  treated  in  another  place.  It  suffices  upon  this 
point  to  say  that  those  industries  which  offer  the  largest  mar- 
gin of  profit  are  most  sought  after  at  any  given  time.  These 
may  be  either  long  established  industries,  or  new  industries 
based  upon  patented  or  secret  processes.  In  general,  it  is  the 
new  industry  which  offers  the  largest  margin  of  profits,  even  the 
production  of  toys  or  fancy  articles,  which  satisfy  the  popular 
taste  at  the  time  and  in  which  a  forttme  may  be  made  before 
others  can  enter  the  field  to  share  the  large  profits.  It  is  also 
to  be  observed  that  modern  industry  inclines  more  and  more 
to  specialization;  to  the  manufacture  of  a  single  article,  or  the 
carrying  through  of  a  particular  process  in  a  given  mill. 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  193 

(210)  Industries  Tending  to  Specia.lize  in  Production  of  One  Thing 

No  matter  what  the  industry  may  be,  cotton,  woolen, 
leather,  glass,  or  copper  manufacture,  the  tendency  to  specializ: 
in  the  production  of  one  thing  is  on  the  increase.  The  reason  is 
as  follows:  Specialization  means  that  the  entire  energies  of  the 
mill-force  are  concentrated  on  the  production  of  one  thing,  which 
enables  that  thing  to  be  produced  at  lower  cost  than  if  a  num- 
ber of  articles  were  produced  under  the  same  roof.  A  factory, 
just  as  a  man,  can  do  a  few  things  much  more  efficiently  than 
many  things.  "J^ck-of-all-trades  and  master  of  none,"  is  as 
true  of  large  enterprises  as  of  individuals.  For  the  same  rea- 
son, specialized  industry  finds  a  readier  sale  for  its  products.  A 
mill  becomes  known  in  a  certain  line  because  it  turns  out  only 
one  thing;  and  when  a  particular  article  is  wanted,  the  name  of 
that  mill  at  once  arises  in  the  buyer's  mind.  A  minor  advant- 
age of  specialized  industry,  which  is  often,  however,  of  great 
importance,  is  that  the  surplus  stock  of  such  a  plant,  consist- 
ing as  it  does  of  only  one  kind  of  goods,  is  much  more  available 
for  quick  deliveries  and  to  satisfy  sudden  and  urgent  demands, 
than  when  the  stock  includes  a  number  of  articles,  in  which  case 
any  extra  demand  will  soon  exhaust  it,  and  compel  the  com- 
pany to  dechne  orders,  and  thus  lose  custom. 

(211)  Location  of  a.  PIsLnt  Innport&nt 

After  the  line  of  production  has  been  settled  upon,  the  next 
problem  in  starting  a  new  industry  is  the  selection  of  a  site. 
The  location  of  a  plant  should  be,  above  everything  else,  health- 
ful. The  employees  cannot  do  good  work  under  unwholesome 
conditions.  As  between  city  and  country,  it  is  usually  unwise 
to  take  either  alternative.  In  the  heart  of  a  city,  rents  are  apt 
to  be  high,  and  desirable  locations  are  taken.  In  the  country, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  secure  and  hold  a  working 
force,  for  the  workmen,  who  must  be  taken  from  the  city,  do 
not  enjoy'  the  loneliness  and  isolation  of  country  life.  The 
most  satisfactory  location  is  in  the  suburbs  of  a  city  w'here  there 
is  plenty  of  cheap  land,  and  where,  owing  to  the  dev«Jopment 
of  rapid  transit,  employees  can  be  secured  without  difficulty, 
which  allows  them  to  run  into  town  at  any  time. 


194  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

(212)  Buildings  eLi\d  Ma.chinery 

When  the  location  has  been  determined  upon,  the  build- 
ings and  machinery  are  erected.  Building-s  are  usually  erected 
by  contractors,  although  some  firms  and  companies  build  their 
own  extensions.  jNIachinery  is  always  purchased  from  machine 
builders.  If  new  machines  are  wanted,  specifications  of  design 
are  furnished.  It  is  usual,  in  allotting  contracts,  for  bids  to  be 
opened  and  the  contract  given  to  the  bidder  offering  the  most 
favorable  terms.  The  successful  bid  is  not  always,  however, 
the  lowest  bid.  There  must  be  ample  assurance  that  the  biddei" 
to  whom  the  contract  is  given,  will  be  able  to  complete  the 
work  in  the  time  agreed  upon;  and  this  assurance  the  lowest 
bidder  is  not  always  able  to  furnish.  The  reputation  of  the  con- 
tractor or  machine  builder  for  thorough  work,  as  well  as  for 
rapid  work,  is  also  taken  into  consideration. 

(213)  Kind  of  Power  to  be  Used 

An  important  question  in  this  connection  concerns  the  kind 
of  power  which  will  be  chosen.  If  water  power  is  available,  it 
is  possible  to  make  choice  between  four  kinds  of  power:  Water 
power;  electric  power,  generated  by  water,  steam,  or  gas;  steam 
power,  generated  by  gas  or  coal,  and  gas  power  exerted  in  the 
gas  engine.  As  was  shown  in  another  place,  water  power  is 
usually  chosen  when  it  is  available.  Where  a  mill  site  cannot 
be  obtained  near  the  water  power,  it  may  be  converted  into 
electric  power  in  a  dynamo  and  sent  over  a  wire  to  operate  a 
factory  sometimes  30  miles  distant.  Electric  power  is  widely 
used  in  connection  with  steam  for  operating  a  number  of  single 
machines.  Each  machine  can  have  its  own  motor  and  when  a 
machine  stops  for  any  reason,  the  others  can  go  on.  The  gas 
engine  has  the  advantage  that  no  fireman  is  required  and  that 
very  little  attention  is  necessary,  while  where  cheap  gas  is  ol:)- 
tainable,  the  cost  is  less  than  that  of  the  steam  engine.  In  most 
cases,  however,  because  of  the  universal  cheapness  of  coal, 
steam  is  the  power  selected.  Then  arises  the  choice  of  coals — 
for  there  is  a  large  number  of  varieties  on  the  market — and  the 
length  and  terms  of  the  coal  contract.  Competition  is  so  active 
in  the  coal  business  that  shrewd  buyers  can  often  obtain  sub- 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  195 

stantial  reductions  from  current  prices  by  playing  off  one  agent 
against  another.  Coal,  as  a  rule,  is  sold  by  commission  agents, 
who  often  represent  more  than  one  coal  company,  so  that  they 
are  able  to  offer  the  buyer  a  variety  of  choice.  The  question 
regarding  the  choice  of  machinery,  especially  as  between  new 
and  old  styles  of  mechanical  appliances,  always  arises  at  the 
outset  of  every  new  enterprise.  The  manager  of  a  new  enter- 
prise, if  he  is  wise,  will  avail  himself  of  the  great  advantage  that 
he  possesses  in  being  able  to  select  the  newest  and  best  of  every- 
thing. His  competitors,  pn  the  other  hand,  who  have  been 
long  in  the  field,  are  often  prevented  by  the  fear  of  sacrificing  a 
portion  of  their  investment,  from  introducing  new  and  improved 
machinerv  and  devices. 


(214)  Collection  of  sl  LaLbor  Force 

The  next  question  is  the  collection  of  a  labor  force.  If 
times  are  dull;  if  the  industry  is  one  of  long  standing;  and  if  the 
plant  is  located  in  or  near  a  large  center,  there  is  little  difficulty. 
Advertisements  in  the  daily  papers  are  sufficient  to  bring  more 
than  a  sufficient  number  of  applications.  These  applicants,  if 
they  are  skilled  workmen,  are  expected  to  bring  references  or 
letters  of  recommendation  from  former  employers.  Sometimes 
a  force  of  workmen  can  be  moved  from  one  town  to  another 
when  the  industry  in  which  they  are  employed  is  moved.  Ap- 
plication is  sometimes  made  to  employment  agencies,  or  better, 
to  the  employment  bureaus  of  labor  organizations  to  furnish 
the  required  number  of  workmen.  The  selection  of  superin- 
tendents, technical  experts,  heads  of  departments,  and  foremen 
comes  usually  as  a  result  of  advertising  or  from  personal  con- 
nections of  the  owners. 

(215)  Supplying  Na.teri&ls 

The  question  of  a  supply  of  materials  next  arises.  The 
method  employed  in  buying  coal  has  already  been  described, 
and  some  reference  made  to  the  methods  used  by  some  large 
companies  for  supplying  themselves  with  materials  from  their 
own  mines  and  forests.  In  the  same  connection,  however,  it 
was  shown  how  most  industries  must  buy  their  supplies  in  rhe 
markets.  For  this  purpose,  a  buying  department  is  organized, 
sometimes  divided  among  several  men,  each  responsible  for  par- 


196  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

ticular  materials.  The  buyer  must  be  a  man  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  details  of  the  industry  for  which  he  purchases, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  select  intelligently.  He  must  also  be  familiar 
with  market  conditions  in  the  articles  that  he  buys;  and  he  must, 
of  course,  be  a  shrewd  and  adroit  bargainer,  in  order  to  get  the 
best  terms  possible  from  the  different  agents  who  approach  him 
for  orders.  Associated  with  the  buying  department  in  most 
I  large  industrial  establishments,  is  the  inspection  department 
'  where  samples  of  the  materials  bought  are  carefully  tested  ac- 
cording to  recognized  standards. 

Sometimes,  moreover,  the  functions  of  the  buyer  are  entire- 
ly subordinated  to  those  of  the  inspectors.  The  inspector  makes 
out  specifications  of  the  steel,  or  oil,  or  lumber  wanted,  and  the 
buyer  merely  invites  bids  on  the  basis  of  the  specifications,  hav- 
ing no  choice  but  to  accept  the  lowest  bid,  the  conformity  of 
whose  samples  with  its  own  specifications,  is  judged  and  deter- 
mined according  to  physical  or  chemical  tests  by  the  inspectors. 
The  importance  of  inspection  is  steadily  increasing  in  all 
large  establishments;  and  when  the  inspection  department  has 
been  fully  developed,  the  buyer  has  very  little  to  do  and  can 
often  be  entirely  dispensed  with,  the  remainder  of  his  duties  be- 
ing assumed  by  the  inspector.  With  the  buyer  and  the  inspec- 
tor is  the  storekeeper,  who  receives  the  goods  purchased  and 
delivers  them  when  called  for  to  the  various  departments  of  the 
mill.  The  storekeeper  notifies  the  buyer  when  a  particular  stock 
is  running  low,  and  the  buyer,  from  these  calls,  constructs  his 
"want  book"  or  "want  card,"  which  he  consults  when 
approached  by  salesmen. 

(216)  The  Operation  of  the  Mill ;  Factory  Bookkeeping 

Having  selected  a  location,  erected  buildings,  installed 
machinery,  selected  power,  contracted  for  fuel,  collected  a  labor 
and  superintendence  force,  and  provided  for  a  supply  of  mate- 
rials, the  next  step  is  the  operation  of  t'he  mill.  The  question  of 
factory  bookkeeping,  w'hich  should  be  considered  next  in  order, 
is  fully  discussed  in  the  first  book  of  this  series.  It  is  merely 
necessary  in  this  place  to  indicate  what  the  superintendent  of  a 
mill,  the  man  who  is  responsible  for  its  management,  desires  to 
know  from  its  books.     He  must  know  accurately  the  cost  of 


J 


AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  197 

materials,  the  cost  of  manufacturing  those  materials  into  the  fin- 
ished product,  and  the  cost  of  selling.  The  difference  between 
the  sum  of  these  three  costs  and  the  price  of  the  product  is  the 
margin  of  profits,  out  of  which  interest  and  dividends  are  to  be 
paid.  The  books  of  a  mill  should  show,  not  merely  the  total 
cost  of  each  yard  of  cloth  or  machine  that  it  turns  out,  but  the 
cost  of  each  step  in  the  process  should  be  shown  also,  and,  in 
addition,  this  cost  should  be  analyzed,  and  their  respective 
shares  should  be  assigned  to  labor  and  to  machinery.  When 
the  superintendent  has  these  facts  before  him  for  a  series  of 
weeks  or  months,  he  is  in  position  to  know  exactly  where  im- 
pTovement  or  correction  can  be  made.  If  the  labor  cost  at  a 
certain  stage  of  the  process  shows  an  increase,  the  cause  can 
be  ascertained  and  removed.  It  may  be  the  fault  of  the  work- 
men, in  which  case  the  foreman  can  be  instructed  to  urge  the 
men  to  more  work,  or  it  may  be  due  to  the  machines  being  run 
at  a  lower  speed  than  it  is  possible  to  run  them,  in  which  case 
the  cause  can  be  detected  and  the  trouble  remedied.  A  proper 
system  of  cost  keeping  also  enables  the  superintendent  to  ex- 
periment with  new  machines  or  methods,  and  to  determine  the 
exact  measure  of  success  which  has  attended  the  experiment. 
The  value  of  a  proper  system  of  mill  bookkeeping  is  now  com- 
ing to  be  recognized,  and  progressive  managers  are  paying  a 
great  deal  of  attention  to  this  part  of  their  work. 

(217)  Informa-fion  Bureacu 

Closely  connected  with  cost  keeping  in  the  management  of 
a  mill,  is  the  informatioH  bureau.  Every  large  and  well  man- 
aged establishment  now  employs  men  whose  sole  business  is  to 
find  out  what  is  going  on  in  the  industrial  world  that  would  be 
of  interest  to  their  company  to  know.  New  supplies  of  material, 
new  machines  and  processes,  new  methods  of  cost  keeping,  new 
labor  regulations,  new  companies  in  the  same  line  of  business,— 
all  these  facts  a  progressive  superintendent  desires  to  know,  in 
order  that  'he  may  guide  the  policy  of  his  own  company  in  ac- 
cord with  the  changing  conditions  of  the  industry  in  which  it  is 
engaged,  and  adapt  himself  to  new  conditions.  One  large  steel 
concern  in  the  United  States  is  reported  to  pay  to  the  head  of 
12   . 


198  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

its  information  bureau  a  salary  of  $80,000  per  year,  and  it  is 
further  stated  that  the  company  considers  his  services  worth 
several  times  the  salary  that  he  receives. 

(218)  Repairs.  RenewaLls  of  Old  Machinery,  Inlroductioiv  of  New  Na.chinery 

Next  in  order  of  the  problems  confronting-  the  superintend- 
ent, is  that  of  repairs  and  renewals  of  old  machinery,  and  the 
introduction  of  new  machinery.  Concerning  the  first  two  mat- 
ters, little  need  be  said.  Everyone  knows,  from  personal  ob- 
servation, that  tools  and  machines,  in  order  to  do  good  service 
must  be  kep't  in  good  repair.  A  farmer  who  allows  his  ma- 
chinery to  stand  out  in  the  field  all  winter  is  apt  to  have  serious 
trouble  at  harvest  time;  so  with  the  manufacturing  plant. 
Every  well  managed  mill  spends  a  great  deal  of  money  on  re- 
pairs and  replacements,  and  the  object  of  a  capable  management 
is  to  leave  the  plant  in  as  good  condition  at  the  end  of  the  year 
as  it  was  at  the  beginning.  Beyond  these  considerations,  how- 
ever, there  is  the  question  of  new  machinery,  which  if  intro- 
duced must  often  displace  other  machinery  still  in  good  con- 
dition and  able  to  do  service,  it  may  be,  for  years.  To  discard 
this  means  a  double  expense.  Suppose  the  old  machine  cost 
$5000,  and  is  worth,  allowing  for  its  wear,  at  the  present  time, 
$2000.  The  new  machine  will  cost  $4000.  To  make  the 
change,  therefore,  will  mean  a  sacrifice  of  $2000;  for  old  ma- 
chinery sells  for  a  mere  fraction  of  its  original  cost,  and  a  cash 
outlay  of  $4000  plus  the  cost  of  taking  out  the  old  machine  and 
putting  in  the  new  one,  a  cost  which  is  often  considerable.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  can  be  urged  in  favor  of  the  new  machine  that 
it  will  do  work 'at  20  per  cent,  less  cost  than  the  old  machine; 
and  that,  in  addition,  the  product  will  be  of  a  better  quality. 
This  question  of  substitution  the  progressive  superintendent 
decides  by  answering  the  following  question.  Will  the  net  cost 
of  making  the  change,  that  is  to  say,  the  value  of  the  old  ma- 
chine plus  the  cost  of  removal  and  installation,  and  less  the 
amount  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  old  machine— either  for 
the  same  uses,  or  as  scrap  iron— say  $12,000,  be  repaid  by  the 
profits  of  the  new  machine  within  the  time  during  which  the 
old  machine  can  still  be  used; in  other  words,  suppose  the  old 


A^IERICAN  INDUSTRIES  igg 

machine  would  last  five  years,  losing  $400  of  its  value  every 
year,  will  the  increased  profits  resulting  from  the  20  per  cent, 
lower  cost  of  production  with  the  new  machine  amount  to 
$2500?     Then  the  change  would  certainly  be  advisable. 

It  might  even  be  wise  to  sacrifice  a  present  value  of  $^000 
in  the  old  machine  though  the  increased  profits  should  amount 
to  less  than  $2000,  and  supposing  that  there  should  be  no  in- 
creased profits  resulting  from  the  change.  This  would  be  true 
when  it  was  necessary  to  substitute  a  new  machine  capable  of 
making  a  better  article  in  order  to  hold  the  trade.  In  such  a 
case,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  change  in  machines  must 
be  made  for  fear  that  competitors  will  be  more  progressive  and 
capture  the  market  in  the  article  in  question.  This  second  con- 
dition is  the  one  usually  met  with  in  American  industry.  If  a 
business  is  to  succeed,  it  must  be  progressive  or  else  its  rival 
will  take  its  trade.  For  this  reason,  most  well  managed  indus- 
tries throw  away,  every  year,  valuable  machinery  because  some- 
thing-better has  been  discovered.  As  a  general  rule,  this  policy 
is  wise,  even  though  it  results  in  present  loss,  for  the  progres- 
sive firms  and  companies  usually  make  up  in  increased  business 
what  they  lose  by  discarding  old  machinery.  One  of  the  rea- 
sons for  the  astonishing  success  of  the  Carnegie  Company  was 
the  resolute  pursuit,  throughout  the  term  of  Mr.  Carnegie's 
control,  of  this  policy  of  displacing  old  machinery  in  favor  of 
new. 

(219)  The  Personal  Ma.na^ement  of  a  Mill 

Having  discussed  some  of  the  general  questions  of  the  me- 
chanical arrangement  and  management  of  the  mill,  we  now  turn 
to  consider  what  may  be  termed  the  personal  management,  the 
direction  of  the  labor  force,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the 
largest  output  at  the  lowest  cost.  Under  this  topic,  the  fol- 
lowing subjects  will  be  considered:  (i)  The  manner  of  appoint- 
ing foremen  and  heads  of  departments  and  the  relations  of  re 
sponsibility  in  the  mill;  (2)  the  hours  of  labor  and  the  question 
of  time  wages  versus  piece  wage^ ;  and  (3)  the  relations  between 
employers  and  employed.  These  subjects  do  not  by  any  means 
embrace  the  entire  field  of  personal  management,  but  their  con- 


200  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES 

sideration  will  call   up  some  of  the  more   important  matters 
among  those  which  could  be  discussed. 

(220)  Methods  of  Selecting  the  Heads  of  Departments 

Two  methods  can  be  followed  in  selecting  the  heads  of  de- 
partments. The  foreman  and  especially  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments are  responsible  to  their  immediate  superiors  for  tlu 
amount  and  quality  of  the  work  that  is  done  under  their  direc- 
tion. They  may  be  promoted  from  the  ranks  as  vacancies  oc- 
cur, or  they  may  be  appointed  because  of  their  relationship  to 
superiors,  or  through  personal  connections  of  one  kind  or  an- 
other. In  the  contrast  between  these  two  methods,  often  lies 
the  difference  between  success  and  failure.  The  success  of  any 
business  depends  finally  on  the  exertion  of  labor  and  intelli- 
gence by  the  wage  earners.  The  more  diligent  and  energetic 
are  the  employees,  the  greater  will  be  the  difference  be- 
tween the  value  of  that  which  each  workman  produces,  and  the 
amount  of  wages  paid  him,  that  is  to  say,  the  larger  will  be  the 
profits  made  from  his  labor.  No  man  will  exert  his  full  strenglh 
merely  because  he  receives  good  wages.  The  main  spring  of 
human  action  is  ambition,  hope,  the  desire  to  better  one's  con- 
dition, to  get  ahead  of  one's  fellows,  to  rise  in  the  world.  Onl\ 
l)y  holding  out  the  hope  of  rapid  advancement  to  a  man,  can  he 
be  induced  to  do  his  best,  and  sometimes  a  little  better  than  his 
best.  The  hope  of  promotion,  of  becoming  a  foreman,  a  de- 
partment manager,  the  superintendent  of  a  mill,  the  manager  of 
a  great  business,  with  all  the  increased  earnings  and  the  distinc 
tion  which  high  positions  carry  with  them;  these  are  the  induce- 
ments which  can  drive  a  man  to  do  his  best  in  order  to  deserve 
well  of  the  company  for  which  he  works. 

(221j  Promotion  from  the  Ranks  Most  Successful 

Those  business  enterprises  which  fill  their  highest  positions 
from  the  ranks  are  in  the  long  run  most  likely  to  succeed. 
Every  workman  in  a  factory  cannot  be  its  superintendent,  but 
each  one  can  aspire  to  that  position,  and  the  sight  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  fellow  workman,  if  the  selection  for  promotion 
is  fairly  made,  inspires  every  one  to  do  his  best — to  do  a  little 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  201 

more  than  his  duty.  There  is  another  and  a  more  direct  ad- 
vantage from  pursuing  a  pohcy  of  promotion  from  the  ranks  to 
positions  of  responsibihty,  and  that  is  the  intimate  knowledge 
possessed  by  the  foreman  and  heads  of  departments  of  every 
detail  of  every  process — a  knowledge  acquired  by  personal  con- 
tact with  the  processes  in  question.  The  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany has,  from  the  beginning  of  its  history,  made  a  practice  of 
filling  even  its  highest  positions  by  promotion,  and  the  success 
which  it  has  won  confirms  the  wisdom  of  the  polic3^  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  certain  that  those  companies  whose 
•high  positions  go  by  personal  influence,  relationship,  and  "pull" 
will  be  placed  at  a  disadvantage  compared  with  businesses  'that 
are  well  managed  in  this  regard.  Favoritism  of  this  kind  takes 
the  ambition  from  employees,  and  officers  who  come  in  from 
the  outside  are  seldom  as  efficient  as  those  who  come  up  from 
the  ranks. 

(222)  Responsibility  Assumed  by  Different  OfficieLls 

As  regards  the  degree  of  responsibility  that  is  assumed  b> 
different  officials,  it  is  now  usual  to  give  the  widest  possible  lib- 
erty of  action  to  the  head  of  a  department,  and  within  a  depart- 
ment the  same  liberty  to  individual  foremen,  judging  them  by 
results  and  interfering  as  little  as  possible  with  the  means  and 
methods  by  which  those  results  are  attained.  It  is,  however,  the 
custom  to  hold  frequent  consultations  of  officials,  usually  at  a 
dinner  or  luncheon,  where  ideas  are  exchanged  and  suggestions 
given  as  to  the  possibility  of  improvement;  but  these  consulta- 
tions are  not  for  the  purpose  of  scrutinizing  the  management  of 
a  given  department,  but  merely  that  the  policy  of  the  business 
may  b-e  improved  by  the  interchange  of  ideas.  In  some  estab- 
lishments— the  Carnegie  Company  again  being  the  most  con- 
spicuous example — every  employee  of  the  company,  from  the 
high  officials  down  to  the  laborers,  are  encouraged  to  offer  sug- 
gestions and  to  devise  plans  for  lowering  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion, which,  if  considered  valuable,  are  paid  for  either  in  cash  or 
with  promotion.  The  Carnegie  Company  further  rewards  dil- 
igence in  its  employees,  by  giving  some  of  the  best  of  them, 
eac^  summer,  a  trip  to  Europe,  where  they  not  only  enjoy  the 
( 


202  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

tour  but  take  occasion  to  familiarize  themselves  with  foreign 
methods  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry. 

(223)  Hours  SLnd  Amount  of  La.bor 

The  question  of  hours  of  labor  and  of  amount,  time  and 
manner  of  wage  payment  includes  a  variety  of  considerations, 
of  which  only  the  most  important  can  be  touched  upon  in  this 
p'lace. 

The  regulation  working  day  in  the  United  States  is  lo 
hours,  although  on  government  work  8  hours  is  taken  as  the 
standard,  and  in  several  trades,  notably  the  building  trades, 
fewer  hours  than  ten  are  the  rule.  Some  trades  also  work 
longer  than  lo  hours,  as  in  the  street  car  service.  It  is  gener- 
ally beHeved  that  lo  hours  is  a  sufficient  working  day,  and  a 
growing  sentiment  favors  a  reduction  of  this  time  to  9  or  even 
8  hours  per  day.  The  compensation  for  the  loss  of  time  in- 
volved in  the  shortening  of  the  working  day,  it  is  claimed,  is 
found  in  the  greater  energy  and  care  which  the  workman  is 
able  to  give.  The  hours  of  labor  were  formerly  much  longer 
than  at  present,  reaching  12  hours  in  all  industries,  and  in  some 
amounting  to  14  and  16  hours.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  an 
actual  increase  in  the  daily  output  of  the  workers  has  resulted 
from  the  reduction  of  the  labor  day  to  its  present  length. 
Whether  a  further  reduction  of  hours  would  be  offset  by  an 
increase  of  efficiency  is  not  so  certain. 

(224)  Amount  of  Wages 

The  amount  of  wages  that  an  employer  should  pay  is  a 
question  that  has  been  discussed  from  the  time  wages  were  first 
paid.  The  employer  was  accustomed  to  consider  the  matter  in 
this  fashion:  "My  product  sells  for,  say,  $200,000  per  year.  If 
I  pay  my  employees  $125,000  instead  of  $100,000,  my  profits 
will  be  reduced  by  $25,000.  If,  however,  I  can  reduce  my  wage 
bill  to  $75,000,  my  profits  will  be  incerased  by  $25,000."  Em- 
ployees, on  the  other  hand,  saw  no  reason  why  all  the  profits  of 
the  employer  should  not  go  to  them  as  wages,  nor  could  they 
understand  the  justice  of  a  system  which  made  them  toil  to  put 
money  into  another  man's  pocket,  wlio,  it  may  be,  so  far  as 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  203 

they  could  see,  did  nothing  to  earn  it.  Both  sides,  we  have 
come  to  reahze,  were  wrong  in  their  opinions.  Unless  a  man 
is  paid  such  wages  that  he  can  maintain  his  family,  keep  his 
children  in  school,  and  lay  up  something  for  sickness  or  old 
age,  he  cannot  reach  his  highest  efficiency  as  a  workman.  It 
is  as  necessary  that  he  should  be  well  fed,  clothed  and  housed, 
and  that  the  future  to  him  should  be  full  of  hope,  as  that  he 
should  have  good  tools  and  machinery  with  which  to  work.  To 
the  employer,  men  and  machinery  are  the  means  of  production, 
and  one  of  these  factors  is  equally  efficient  with  tlie  other.  The 
idea  of  a  living  wage  now  generally  prevails  among  employers. 
Skilled  labor  in  the  United  States  generally  receives  from  $2.00 
to  $3.00  per  day.  The  first  figure  is  too  low  for  city  life,  and 
the  second  is  by  no  means  excessive.  Many  trades  pay  higher 
wages  than  these.  In  the  building  trades,  for  example,  wages 
of  $4.50  to  $5.00  per  day  are  often  paid  in  the  cities,  but  these 
trades  do  not  ofifer  steady  employment;  stone  masons,  for  ex- 
ampJe,  being  idle  during  the  winter  months;  so  that  on  the 
average  the  building  trades  do  not  pay  higher  wages  than  the 
other  occupations  of  skilled  labor. 

(225)  Attitude  of  Workmen  Towards  Employer 

In  regard  to  the  attitude  of  the  workman  toward  the  em- 
ployer, there  have  been  fewer  concessions  of  opinion  made. 
The  workman  is  still  inclined  to  resent  the  large  profits  of  the 
employer  as  being  taken  out  of  the  wealth  which  he,  the  work- 
man, has  created  by  his  labor.  It  is  only  necessary  to  point  out, 
in  this  connection,  that  without  reasonable  profits,  enterprises 
will  not  be  kept  up  to  give  employment  to  workers;  and  also 
that  large  profits  are  apt  to  encourage  a  rapid  growth  of  the 
business  in  which  they  are  made,  and  this  increases  the  demand 
for  workers  and  tends  to  raise  their  wages.  The  most  suc- 
cessful business  enterprises  are  those  in  which  both  wages  and 
profits  are  high. 

(226)  NaLnner  of  Wa-ge  Payment 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  wage  payment,  two  general  dif- 
ferences may  be  noticed.     Wages  are  either  paid  by  the  day  or 


204  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

hour,  or  by  the  job  or  piece.  The  first  method  of  payment  is 
called  time  wages,  and  the  second,  piece  wages.  The  advant- 
ages and  drawbacks  of  the  two  systems  are  as  follows:  When 
a  man  works  by  the  day  or  hour  he  has  no  inducement  to  exert 
himself  to  the  utmost;  to  use  his  full  strength  and  energy  in 
the  service  of  his  employer.  He  is  content  to  plod  along,  tak- 
ing his  full  time,  keeping  busy  if  he  is  a  faithful  workman,  but 
not  doing  as  much  as  he  is  capable  of  doing;  nor  can  the  fore- 
man compel  him  to  fully  exert  himself.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  careful  work  is  required,  it  is  often  an  advantage  that  the 
workman  should  take  his  time;  and  in  those  occupations  where 
the  worker  is  wholly  subordinate  to  the  machine,  when  he  walks 
back  and  forth  with  a  spinning  mule,  or  feeds  steel  bars  into  a 
screw  machine,  or  watches  an  engine,  the  time  of  labor  is  the 
only  possible  basis  of  payment. 

(227)  The  System  of  Piece  Wages 

In  the  skilled  occupations,  however — the  building  trades, 
the  machine  tool  industry,  the  industry  of  glass  blowing — the 
amount  of  the  product,  and  therefore  the  labor  cost  of  each  unit 
of  product  depends  very  much  on  the  energy  of  the  worker.  In 
some  trades,  it  is  claimed  indeed  that  the  individual  output  can 
be  doubled  if  inducements  are  offered  sufficient  to  make  the 
workman  do  his  best.  This  end  of  increased  output  is  often 
sought  to  be  attained  by  means  of  piece  wages.  Under  this 
system,  the  more  a  man  does  the  higher  are  his  wages.  Under 
a  system  of  piece  wages,  it  would  appear  that  the  workman  had 
every  incentive  to  do  his  best.  But  a  dilBculty  at  once  arises. 
The  ordinary  method  of  changing  from  time  to  piece  wages  is 
to  compute  the  average  production  of  each  man  in  the  shop; 
so  many  patterns  cut,  so  many  surfaces  planed,  so  many  arma- 
tures wound  for  each  individual — and  to  divide  this  product  into 
the  daily  wage,  the  quotient  being  the  average  payment  under 
the  system  of  time  wages  for  each  piece.  This  is  made  the 
standard,  and  the  men  are  paid  at  this  rate  according  to  the 
amount  they  do. 

The  result  of  the  introduction  of  piece  wages  is  to  quicken 
most  of  the  employees  to  greater  exertions  and  the  output  of 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIE'S  20$ 

the  shop  is  proportionately  increased.  Now  observe  what  hap- 
pens. The  greater  part  of  the  cost  of  the  product  in  such  in- 
dustries is  the  cost  of  labor.  The  smaller  part  is  the  cost  of 
machinery.  By  the  greater  speed  of  the  machines  under  piece 
wages,  the  employer  gains;  but  he  gains  nothing  at  all  from  the 
increased  speed  of  the  workmen — all  the  gain  from  that  source 
goes  to  the  men.  The  employer  feels  that  this  is  an  unfair  di- 
vision. He  is  also  surprised  to  see  that  some  of  his  workmen 
under  the  new  system  have  doubled  their  wages,  showing  that 
they  were  not  doing  their  best  under  time  wages.  What  more 
natural  than  for  him  to  insist  upon  a  lower  piece  rate,  and  what 
more  easy  than  to  gradually  lower  the  piece  rate  until  the 
workman  at  his  topi  speed,  to  which  he  has  been  stimulated  by 
the  inducement  of  higher  wages,  is  earning  no  more  than  before 
the  new  system  was  introduced.  Indeed,  employers  have  been 
known  to  congratulate  themselves  on  having  discovered,  by 
changing  to  the  piece  wage  system,  just  how  much  their  work- 
men could  do.  The  injustice  of  this  proceeding,  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  wage  earner,  is  plain.  He  feels  that  he  has  been 
deceived.  After  being  encouraged  to  over-exertion  by  the 
promise  of  higher  earnings,  he  finds  that  he  is  making  little  if 
any  more  than  under  the  old  system.  He  may,  in  fact,  be 
working  much  harder  for  the  old  wages.  For  this  reason,  piece 
work  is  generally  disliked  by  skilled  workmen,  even  when  they 
work  under  that  system. 

(228)  Prmium  System  of  Wa^e  Pa.ynient 

A  compromise  between  the  two  methods  of  paying  by  the 
hour  and  paying  by  the  job  is  afforded  by  the  premium  system 
of  wage  payment.  This  system  starts  from  an  assumed  fixed 
cost  for  particular  pieces  of  work,  a  cost  based  upon  the  aver- 
age speed  and  capacity  of  the  shop  or  mill.  For  any  reduction 
of  this  cost,  in  the  increased  speed  of  a  workman,  a  premium  is 
paid  amounting  to  a  certain  portion — a  half  or  two-thirds — as 
the  case  may  be,  of  the  saving  which  the  workman  has  made  by 
his  greater  diligence.  The  remainder  of  the  saving  goes  to  the 
employer.  The  system  has  been  introduced  in  many  places,  but 
has  met  with  opposition  from  the  workmen,  who  feared  that  it 


2o6  AME.RICAN    INDUSTRIES 

was  a  system  of  piece  wages  in  another  form,  and  have  usually 
resented  its  introduction.  There  seems  to  be  little  doubt,  how- 
ever, that  this  system,  or  some  modification  of  it,  will  increase 
its  hold  in  the  shops  and  mills.  The  system  of  time  wages, 
which  reduces  all  to  the  same  level,  and  which  fails  to  get  from 
the  workmen  all  that  they  are  able  to  do,  is  opposed  to  indus- 
trial progress.  The  system  of  paying  according  to  work  done, 
however,  is  in  line  with  the  spirit  of  the  modern  age,  which  de- 
mands that  each  man  should  be  rewarded  according  to  his  in- 
dividual merits. 

(229)  Time  of  Wa^e  Payment 

The  time  of  wage  payment  is  in  many  states  prescribed  by 
law.  The  almost  universal  rule  is  weekly  payment  of  wages  and 
monthly  payment  of  salaries.  Saturday  night  is  the  time  gen- 
erally taken  to  pay  wages.  Many  employers  pay  on  Monday 
night  in  order  to  discourage,  as  far  as  possible,  the  spending  of 
the  week's  wages  in  the  saloons  on  Saturday  night.  The 
method  of  payment  is  usually  in  currency,  although  sometimes 
checks  are  employed.  Workmen  prefer  cash  on  account  of  the 
trouble  of  cashing  checks. 

(230)  The  Company  Store  System 

Many  industries  situated  in  outlying  sections,  especially 
mining  companies,  carry  on  what  is  known  as  the  company  store 
system.  The  company  owns  a  general  store  in  connection  with 
the  mine,  and  all  its  employees  are  expected  to  trade  at  this 
store.  If  an  employee  does  not  comply  with  the  request,  while 
the  laws  of  most  states  forbid  any  coercion  in  the  matter,  and 
indeed,  generally  prohibit  the  ownership  of  supply  stores  by 
coal-mining  or  other  companies,  the  obstinate  individual  is 
likely  to  be  dropped  at  the  first  opportunity;  although  some 
other  reason  than  the  true  one  must  be  given  for  his  discharge. 
For  this  reason,  company  stores,  when  the  negligence  of  the 
authorities  allows  them  to  exist,  are  well  patronized.  A  well 
managed  company  store  will  not  charge  higher  prices  than  other 
stores  and  its  goods  will  be  of  fair  quality.  Its  gains,  however, 
as  compared  with  those  of  retail  stores  that  must  struggle  for 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  207 

business,  and  must  often  give  large  credit  to  their  customers, 
and  incur  heavy  losses  because  of  bad  debts  and  slow  collections, 
are  very  large.  In  the  soft  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania  the 
profits  from  the  company  stores  are  stated  to  average  20  per 
cent.  The  method  of  operation  of  a  company  store  is  as  fol- 
lows: On  pay  day,  when  the  men  present  their  time  or  tonnage 
checks  for  payment,  they  are  handed  a  statement  of  the  amount 
they  have  purchased  at  the  company  store  since  last  pay  day, 
and  the  amount  is  deducted  from  the  wages  due  them.  This 
system  is  only  possible  in  isolated  communities  or  small  towns. 
In  a  large  city  or  even  a  town  of  moderate  size,  it  is  impossible 
to  exert  such  control  over  employees,  and  these  company  stores 
are  slowly  disappearing  from  the  mining  regions. 

(231)  Kelations  Between  Employer  SLnd  Employee 

This  subject  belongs  rather  to  the  field  of  Sociologfy  than 
to  that  of  business  management;  but  owing  to  its  bearing  upon 
the  management  of  industry,  it  will  here  be  considered.  It  is  a 
proposition  almost  self-evident  that  tbe  employer's  interest  is 
furthered  by  his  possessing  the  good  will  of  his  employees.  No 
man  will  work  so  well  for  wages  alone,  as  he  will  work  when, 
in  addition  to  the  wages  he  receives,  is  added  the  consciousness 
that  his  employer  is  interested  in  his  welfare;  that  he  will  pro- 
mote him  as  fast  as  he  deserves  it;  that  his  employer  will  care 
for  him  in  sickness,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  look  after  his  fam- 
ily in  case  of  his  own  death;  that  his  sons  will  have  the  prefer- 
ence when  vacancies  occur  in  the  mill;  that  he  will  be  fairly 
paid  for  over  time;  that  his  wages  will  increase  with  the  profits 
of  the  business,  and,  in  general,  that  his  employer  will  do  to  him 
as  he,  the  employer,  would  be  done  by  were  the  positions  re- 
versed. Many  firms  and  companies  bear  just  these  relations  to 
their  workmen,  and  it  need  hardly  be  said  that  they  do  not  lose 
any  money  by  their  policy  of  kindness.  Few  businesses  are  so 
large  that  the  employer  cannot  know  something  of  the  circum- 
stances of  his  subordinates,  and  friendly  interest  is  an  outlay 
which  never  fails  to  bring  in  large  and  quick  returns. 

Let  us  explain  more  fully  as  to  particulars.  The  employer 
owes  to  his  employees  healthful  surroundings;  large  and  light 
rooms    with    plenty    of    air    space  and  good  ventilation,  well 


2og  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

warmed  in  winter  and  when  possible  cooled  in  summer;  he  owes 
them  the  best  of  sanitary  conveniences,  and  he  will  not  go  far 
astray  if  he  provides  lockers  for  their  street  clothing.  He 
further  owes  it  to  his  employees  to  protect  them,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, from  the  risks  incident  to  their  occupation;  to  put  railings 
about  dangerous  machinery,  to  case  belts,  and  to  put  guard  rails 
on  stairs;  to  sand  slippery  floors,  and  to  see  that  boilers  are 
regularly  inspected.  It  is  an  employer's  duty  to  do  these  things, 
and  for  fear  that  short-sighted  or  penurious  men  should  neglect 
to  do  them,  the  law  insists  that  they  shall  be  done,  prescribes 
penalties  for  neglect  to  obey  its  commands,  and  employs  inspec- 
tors to  see  that  these  regulations  are  obeyed.  The  employer 
furt'her  owes  to  his  employees  reasonable  hours  and  living  wages 
and  he  owes  it  to  them  and  also  to  himself,  to  take  a  friendly 
interest  in  their  welfare.  These  matters  have  already  been  no- 
ticed. The  question  now  arises,  shall  the  employer  go  further 
than  this?  Shall  he  do  more  than  self  interest  directs;  shall  he 
provide  libraries,  gymnasiums,  baths  and  amusements  for  his 
workers,  as  some  employers  have  done  and  as  most  people 
think  that  all  employers  should  do?  There  is  no  hesitation  in 
answering  in  the  negative.  Philanthropy  of  this  sort  is  alto- 
gether out  of  place  and  tends  to  pauperize  the  recipients.  A 
man  works  for  wages.  The  self  interest  of  his  employer  and 
common  friendliness  and  humanity  demand  that  the  worker  be 
kindly  treated  and  assisted  in  misfortune.  But  to  go  further 
than  this  is  not  demanded.  It  is  far  better  for  workmen  to  pro- 
vide such  things  for  themselves  than  that  they  should  be  pre- 
sented with  them.  If  living  wages  are  paid,  a  margin  will  usu- 
ally remain  for  luxury  and  amusement.  Experience  has  shown 
that  workmen  prefer  to  take  their  wages  in  cash  rather  than  in 
part  cash  and  part  philanthropy. 

(232)  The  Liability  of  the  Employer  and  the  Employed  in  Cases  of  Injury 

Another  kind  of  relation  between  employer  and  employee 
is  developed  when  the  employee  is  injured  in  the  performance 
of  his  duties.  If  the  injury  can  be  shown  to  be  the  result  of  his 
own  negligence  or  the  negligence  of  his  fellow  workmen,  the  law 
gives  him  no  redress.     If  the  arrangement  of  mill  or  machinery 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  209 

was  to  blame,  a  suit  for  damages  may  be  brought  against  the 
firm.  The  result  of  a  damage  suit  against  a  rich  man  or  a  cor- 
poration can  usually  be  predicted.  The  only  question  raised  by 
the  average  jury  in  such  a  case  is,  "How  much  shall  we  give 
him?"  An  employer  is  thus  justified  in  protecting  himself 
against  damage  suits,  which  unscrupulous  lawyers  are  always 
ready  to  encourage  on  the  slightest  pretext.  Large  companies 
often  do  this  by  maintaining  a  hospital  in  which  injuries  are 
attended  to.  Nearly  every  large  employer  pays  a  physician  to 
look  after  such  cases.  The  wages  of  the  injured  person  are  also 
continued  and  his  place  is  kept  for  him.  Considerate  treatment, 
especially  if  relations  between  the  two  parties  have  been  hith- 
erto pleasant,  and  if  the  injury  is  plainly  the  result  of  the  em- 
ployee's carelessness  or  of  the  negligence  of  his  fellow  workmen, 
is  usually  sufficient  to  safe-guard  the  employer  against  a  dam- 
age suit.  Sometimes  the  employee,  when  he  enters  upon  his 
duties,  is  required  to  sign  a  contract  agreeing  to  accept  certain 
compensation  in  case  he  is  injured;  and  in  other  cases  he  agrees 
to  the  deduction  of  a  certain  amount  from  his  wages  in  order 
that  he  may  be  insured  against  accident  or  disease. 

(233)  Importaivce  of  Discipliive 

The  relations  which  arise  out  of  discipline  are  of  great  im- 
portance. The  chief  offenses  in  a  mill  are  tardiness,  careless- 
ness and  laziness.  If  a  man  is  always  on  time;  if  he  works  care- 
fully, and  if  he  exerts  himself,  no  fault  can  be  found  with  him, 
for  his  capacity  has  usually  been  tested  beforehand.  The  cases 
requiring  discipline  in  a  mill,  therefore,  fall  under  these  three 
heads.  Most  mills  have  a  system  of  keeping  time;  either  the 
time  each  man  begins  work  is  noted  by  an  employee,  or  by  an 
automatic  device  on  which  each  workman  is  obliged  to  register 
the  time  of  his  arrival.  Systematic  tardiness,  and  absence  with- 
out excuse  are  usually  punished  by  docking  the  wages  of  the  of- 
fender and  eventually  by  discharge.  The  remaining  two  of- 
fenses, carelessness  and  laziness,  are  usually  dealt  with  by  repri- 
mand, and,  eventually,  after  the  second  or  third  serious  offense, 
by  discharge.  It  is  not  usual,  even  when  their  offense  involves 
a  serious  loss  to  the  firm,  to  punish  mill  hands  by  fines.     The 


210  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

amount  of  fine  which  could  be  collected  would  usually  amount 
to  a  mere  fraction  of  the  damage,  and  the  attempt  to  collect 
fines  on  any  other  principle  than  that  of  compensation  for  injury 
done,  is  certain  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  injustice  and  to  make 
dissatisfaction  in  the  mill.  It  is  not  considered  good  policy  to 
allow  superior  officers  to  abuse  their  subordinates  when  a  repri- 
mand is  deemed  necessary;  for  this  injures  a  workman's  self- 
respect,  provokes  his  fellow  employees,  and  usually  fails  to  ac- 
complish the  object  of  the  reprimand,  which  is  the  correction  of 
the  fault. 

(234)  The  Relations  Between  Employers  and  Organized  Labor 

The  final  subject  that  will  be  considered  under  this  general 
topic  of  the  management  of  industry  is  the  relations  between 
employers  and  organized  labor.  Most  of  the  skilled  workers 
in  the  cities  and  larger  towns  of  the  United  States  are  joined 
together  in  organizations  called  trades  unions.  The  professed 
objects  of  these  organizations  are  to  cultivate  a  feeling  of  broth- 
erhood and  mutual  confidence  between  workers  in  the  same 
trade;  to  render  assistance  in  sickness  and  misfortune;  to  assist 
members  in  finding  employment  for  themselves  or  their  chil- 
dren, and  finally  to  work  for  the  amelioration  of  the  conditions 
of  employment,  which  means  to  attempt  to  raise  wages,  shorten 
hours  when  necessary,  and  regulate  the  conditions  under  which 
work  shall  be  performed.  The  method  of  organization  is  both 
local  and  general.  The  workmen  in  particular  towns  or  mills 
elect  officers  and  adopt  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  or- 
ganization; and  they  have  the  right  to  send  delegates  to  an  an- 
nual convention  which  elects  general  officers  and  makes  neces- 
sary changes  in  the  constitution  and  by-laws  of  the  organiza- 
tion. Unions  whose  names  are  familiar  to  everyone  are  "The 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,"  the  "Amalgamated 
Association  of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers,"  the  "United  Mine 
Workers,"  and  the  "International  Typographical  Union,"  The 
general  line  of  action  pursued  by  the  unions  is  as  follows :  To 
limit  employment  in  particular  trades  to  their  own  membership, 
and  to  limit  also  in  most  cases,  the  number  of  apprentices  who 
are  permitted  to  learn  the  trade.     Many^  unions  have  a  label 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  ill 

which  they  require  manufacturers  to  place  upon  a  cigar  box  or 
on  a  hat,  signifying  that  the  article  in  question  was  made  by 
union  labor.  Trades  unionists  generally  refuse  to  buy  non- 
union goods.  They  also  attempt  to  influence  legislation  on  la- 
bor questions,  e.  g.,  hours  of  labor,  employment  of  prison  labor, 
etc.,  by  throwing  the  support  of  their  organizations  to  candi- 
dates for  public  office  who  are  known  to  be  favorable  to  their 
demands.  They  inquire  into  the  conditions  of  employment; 
sometimes  limit  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  in  particular 
mills,  and  inquire  into  the  reasons  for  discharging  particular 
workmen.  This  system  of  oversight  is  carried  on  both  by  the 
local  organizations  and  by. traveling  officials  called  walking  del- 
egates, who  visit  the  different  shops  or  mills  at  regular  intervals, 
give  advice  to  the  local  organizations,  and,  when  necessary,  re- 
port to  the  general  officers. 

(235)  Na.nner   of    Conducting     Dealings     Between    0r^8Lniza.tions     and 
Employers 

The  dealings  between  labor  organizations  and  employers 
are  usually  conducted  by  shop  or  mill  committees  who  present 
the  requests  or  complaints  of  the  men,  and  who  direct  the  action 
of  the  organization  in  case  of  disagreement  between  the  em- 
ployers and  the  local  organization.  In  some  cases,  the  national 
organization  assumes  to  act  for  the  local  union  in  matters  of 
general  importance,  such  as  the  rate  of  wages  which  is  to  be 
paid  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  weapon  of  defense  and  retaUa- 
tion  which  the  union  possesses  is  the  strike — a  refusal  of  its 
members  to  work  unless  their  demands  are  granted.  This 
weapon  is  sometimes  used  with  far  reaching  effect.  The  An- 
thracite Coal  Miners'  Strike  of  1900  and  the  Steel  Strike  of  190T 
are  familiar  examples.  Employers  in  the  United  States  are 
generally  unfriendly  to  organized  labor,  claiming  that  they  have 
a  right  to  employ  whom  they  please;  and  that  they  should  not 
be  dictated  to  by  labor  organizations  who  are  irresponsible  be- 
cause they  have  no  funds  or  property  which  can  be  levied  upon. 
The  workmen  claim,  on  the  other  hand,  that  unless  they  are 
organized,  they  are  at  the  mercy  of  their  employers  in  the  mat- 
ter of  wages  and  conditions  of  employment.     They  claim  that 


2ia  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

they  must  be  organized  in  order  to  meet  the  employer  on  a  basis 
of  equaHty.  The  merits  of  the  question  are  often  obscured  by 
foohsh  and  arbitrary  conduct  on  one  side  or  the  other  as,  for 
example,  in  the  Steel  Strike  of  1901;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  must 
be  conceded  that  the  workmen  have  legal  right  to  organize,  and 
that  being  conceded,  there  is  nothing  left  for  the  employer  but 
to  recognize  the  fact  of  organization  and  endeavor  to  keep  on 
friendly  terms  with  labor  leaders.  No  one  denies  the  value  of 
the  beneficial  features  of  labor  organizations,  nor  can  it  be  de- 
nied that  they  have,  in  many  cases,  improved  the  condition  of 
labor  and  instituted  much  needed  reforms. 


The  Distribution  of  Industrial  Products 

(236)    The  Method  of  Distribution 

Few  men  can  aspire  to  be  large  manufacturers.  Every  one 
can  hope  to  keepi  a  store.  The  art  of  store-keeping,  or,  rather, 
the  general  principles  upon  which  store-keeping  is  based,  are 
matters  in  which  the  student  of  business  geography  is  naturally 
more  interested  than  in  any  other  subject  that  might  be  pre- 
sented under  this  head.  I  shall  discuss  ihe  subject  of  distribu- 
tion under  the  following  divisions:  (l)  The  general  organiza- 
tion of  distribution;  (2)  the  principles  of  retail  store-keeping;  (3) 
the  growing  tendency  to  eliminate  all  middlemen  and  to  supply 
goods  directly  from  the  factory  to  the  consumer,  the  question, 
in  other  words,  of  the  future  of  wholesale  and  retail  trade. 

The  goods  have  been  manufactured  at  the  factory  and  are 
ready  for  sale  to  the  consumer.  How  is  this  process  of  sale  to 
be  accomplished?  These  goods  are  of  two  classes:  (i)  Those 
which  are  designed  for  use  by  other  producers,  such  as  crude 
iron  and  steel,  boilers,  engines,  machines,  woolen  yarn  and  lub- 
ricating oil;  and  (2)  those  which  are  designed  for  personal  use 
by  individuals,  such  as  flour,  cofifee,  clothing,  shoes  and  watches. 
The  methods  used  for  disposing  of  goods  of  the  first  class  are 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 


213 


usually  very  simple.  The  manufacturer  keeps  an  advertisement 
in  the  trade  papers  that  deal  with  his  line  of  business.  He  has 
attractive  catalogues  always  on  hand  and  he  sends  out  repre- 
sentatives to  call  upon  manufacturers  and  others  who  may  use 
the  goods  that  he  manufactures. 

The  trade  papers  and  the  advertisements  have  a  wide  cir- 
culation and  their  advertising  pages  are  seen  by  most  of  those 
who  might  be  interested.  These  advertisements  usually  contain 
only  the  name  of  the  article  with  the  name  and  address  of  the 
manufacturer,  and  some  brief  description  of  the  article  adver- 
tised. As  a  rule  no  mention  is  made  of  the  price;  the  quality 
and  the  merits  of  the  article,  being,  however,  described.  Ref- 
erence is  also  made  to  the  catalogue  which  will  be  sent  on  ap- 
plication. A  sample  manufacturers'  advertisement  is  given 
below: 


amrnmrrmnmTmTmfTTTmTTmTmmmTmTmTTmmmTmTmTmTmTmTmer 


DIXON^S 
PURE  FLAKE 
GRAPHITE 


saves  horse  power.  Cools  hot  bearings.  Pre- 
vents friction.  Increases  the  lubricating  power 
of  all  oils  and  greases,  and  is  indispensable  to 
every  engineer  and  machinist  in  hundreds  of 
ways. 

For  samples  and  full  information  address 

JOSEPH  DIXON  CRUICIBLECO. 
Jersey   City,  N.  J. 


^iiiAiiUiiiiiiiAliiiUiiUAiiiiillUiAiAiiiiiiiliAiiiiiiiiiiliUUiiiiaAiiiiliiiiilUUiiiifa 

13 


^4  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

The  manufacturers'  catalogue  is  usually  an  imposing  publi- 
cation, fully  illustrated  and  handsomely  printed.  This  goes  at 
length  into  the  merits  of  the  particular  goods,  shows  wherein 
they  satisfy  the  need,  and  sometimes  how  milch  better  they  are 
than  completing  products.  This  claim,  however,  is  considered 
to  be  discourteous  to  competitors.  Along  with  the  direct 
claims  of  the  article  are  printed  letters  2rcm  prominent  men 
whose  names  are  likely  to  carry  weight  with  the  prospective 
customer.  No  prices  are  quoted  io  ^he  catalogue,  but  are  made 
known  by  letter  or  in  persona-l  interviews  with  intending  pur- 
chasers. The  duties  of  ti"^  traveling  representative  are  to  see 
customers,  and  urge  ^he  value  of  the  articles  that  their  princi- 
pals produce;  And  also,  a  most  important  function  of  the  manu- 
facturers* representative,  is  to  look  into  the  actual  working  of 
the  machine  which  he  represents  and  when  necessary  make  sug- 
gestions to  his  principals  for  its  improvement.  The  best  ad- 
vertisement that  this  class  of  goods  can  have  is  their  quality, 
and  the  gOod  service  that  they  render.  If  they  are  thoroughly 
satisfactory,  a  reputation  for  excellence  quickly  attaches  to  them 
and  also  to  any  new  goods  which  that  particular  company  may 
put  on  the  market.  Mr.  George  Westinghouse,  of  Pittsburg, 
began  with  the  invention  and  manufacture  of  the  Westinghouse 
Air  Brake.  He  next  invaded  the  field  of  electric  appliances, 
and  has  also  taken  up  the  manufacture  of  steam  engines,  gas 
engines  and  other  machines  and  appliances.  Each  one  of  the 
articles  that  he  manufactures  helps  to  advertise  the  others, 

(237)    Method  of  Buying  Employed  by  MaLnufaLCturers 

The  buyers  of  production  goods  pass  on  the  merits  of  the 
goods  presented  to  them,  know  what  they  want,  and  usually 
deal  direct  with  the  manufacturer.  There  is  a  very  small  field 
for  the  middle  man  in  selling  this  class  of  goods  and  the  field 
is  constantly  narrowing.  The  iron  and  steel  broker,  for  exam- 
ple, formerly  buying  their  supplies  for  consumers  of  crude  iron 
and  steel  has  almost  disappeared.  In  general,  the  tendency  in 
this  part  of  the  field  of  production  is  toward  the  cultivation  of 
direct  relations  between  producer  and  consumer. 

When,  however,  we  enter  the  field  of  consumption  goods 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  215 

as  distinguished  from  those  goods  that  are  purchased  for  the 
purpose  of  production,  the  goods,  in  other  words,  which  are 
purchased  by  everybody  for  their  personal  use — groceries,  dry 
goods,  hats,  hardware,  drugs  and  shoes — we  come  at  once  upon 
a  fully  developed  system  of  distribution.  We  have  the  manu- 
facturer's agent,  the  wholesaler  and  the  retailer. 

(238)  The  Growth  of  Domestic  Industry 

Fifty  years  ago  the  retailer,  twice  each  y-ear,  came  to  the 
Eastern  cities  to  purchase  his  supply  of  goods.  Most  of  the 
manufactured  goods  were  imported  and  were  only  to  be  had  in 
the  Eastern  markets.  Since  that  time,  however,  great  changes 
have  taken  place.  The  growth  of  domestic  industry  has  mul- 
tiplied the  number  of  factories.  The  products  of  industry  have 
become  much  diversified.  Take,  for  example,  the  different 
styles  of  shoes  now  on  the  market.  Finally,  the  growth  of  the 
railways  has  made  transportation  and  communication  extreme- 
ly easy.  The  result  of  these  three  causes  has  been  (i)  to  spec- 
ialize industry;  (2)  to  make  it  very  easy  to  reach  the  consumer; 
(3)  to  compel  the  seller  to  search  out  the  buyer  lest  his  compet- 
itor may  take  the  first  train  and  rob  the  first  man  of  a  customer. 

The  first  of  these  causes  is  responsible  for  the  development 
of  the  wholesaler  or  jobber,  who  now  stands  between  the  manu- 
facturer and  retailer.     The  reasons  are  as  follows: 

(239)  Specialization  of  Factory 

In  order  to  produce  at  lowest  cost,  a  factory  must  be  spec- 
ialized. A  manufacturer  canno-t,  with  advantage,  add  wire, 
axes,  can-openers,  screws,  knives  and  saws  to  his  list  of  pro- 
ducts. The  process  of  manufacturing  a  saw,  for  example,  in- 
volves twenty-five  separate  operations,  which  require  a  large 
plant  with  several  departments  and  which  also  demand  special- 
ized machinery  and  skill.  The  process  of  manufacturing  wire 
fencing  requires  entirely  different  machinery  and  differently 
trained  workmen.  The  manufacture  of  a  pocket  knife  differs 
entirely  from  the  two  processes  just  mentioned. 

The  more  specialized  the  industry,  the  more  economical  is 
its  production  and  the  greater  are  its  chances  of  success.     These 


2i6  AMERICAN    TXDUSTRTES 

goods  must  be  sold  to  the  people  through  the  hardware  retail 
dealers  scattered  throughout  the  country  at  the  cross-roads,  in 
the  towns,  and  in  the  large  cities.  Alost  of  these  stores  are 
small  and  supply  a  limited  number  of  customers.  Each  store, 
therefore,  needs  but  a  small  quantity  of  each  kind  of  hardware. 
The  retailer  may  want  five  dozen  grass  scythes,  five  dozen 
scythe  snaths,  one  dozen  scythe  stones,  loo  gross  of  screws, 
three  dozen  coffee  mills,  and  equally  small  quantities  of  twenty 
other  articles.  Each  of  these  articles  is  made  by  a  different 
class  of  manufacturers,  who  make,  most  of  them,  only  one 
thing.  How  impossible  it  is,  then,  for  the  manufacturer  of  cof- 
fee mills  to  send  his  agent  through  the  country  selling  small 
quantities  to  different  dealers,  perhaps  finding  only  one  out  of 
three  in  need  of  the  goods  he  has  for  sale.  Consider  also  the 
expense  of  shipping  such  small  quantities,  and  that  this  expense 
must  all  be  paid  by  the  consumer  in  the  price  of  the  goods. 
This  situation  has  been  remedied  by  the  development  of  the 
jobber,  or  wholesaler,  who  is  a  merchant  who  buys  a  large  va- 
riety of  goods  of  a  particular  class — such  as  hardware,  shoes, 
dry-goods — from  a  number  of  manufacturers,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  selling  these  goods  to  the  retail  trade. 

Observe  the  contrast  between  the  situation  just  presented, 
in  which  the  manufacturer  attempts  to  supply  the  retail  trade, 
and  the  system  by  which  products  are  distributed  through  the 
jobber.  In  place  of  the  manufacturer  selling  to  the  retailer  a 
dozen  scythe  blades,  worth  perhaps  $5.00,  the  jobber  sells  him 
different  quantities  of  perhaps  100  articles,  making  perhaps  a 
car  load,  worth  a  thousand  dollars.  It  is  unnecessary  to  do 
more  than  to  point  out  how  much  cheaper  these  goods  can  be 
sold  through  the  jobber  than  by  the  manufacturer  direct.  The 
advantage  to  the  manufacturer  also  is  great,  for  he  sells  in  large 
quantities — in  car  load  lots — to  the  jobber,  greatly  reducing  his 
selling  cost  and  simplifies  his  bookkeeping.  The  distribution  of 
consumption  goods,  then,  is  carried  on  through  the  wholesaler 
to  the  retailer,  and  it  is  with  relations  between  wholesaler  and 
retailer  that  we  are  next  concerned. 

(240)   Relations  Between  Wholesaler  BLnd  Retailer 

The  wholesaler  keeps  on  iiand,  in  his  store  rooms,  large 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  2VJ 

Stocks  of  the  merchandise  in  which  he  deals,  and  sells  this  to 
the  retail  trade  in  assorted  lots  by  means  of  connnercial  travel- 
lers, or  "drummers,"  as  they  are  called,  who  make  periodical 
trips  through  the  district  that  the  wholesaler  aims  to  cover,  a 
district  sometimes  including  all  the  states  and  territories,  with 
Canada  and  Mexico  added.  These  "drummers"  call  upon  the 
retail  dealers  in  their  line  and  secure  orders  which  they  forward 
to  the  central  or  branch  ofhcc  which  arranges  for  the  shipment 
of  the  goods.  The  amount  of  particular  orders  secured  from 
retailers  doing  the  same  amount  of  business  varies  with  the 
character  of  the  product.  The  greater  the  fluctuations  in  price 
and  the  more  irregular  the  demand  for  an  article,  the  smaller 
will  be  the  single  order  and  the  more  frequent  must  be  the  visits 
of  the  salesmen  representing  it. 

(241)  Competition 

There  is  great  rivalry  between  wholesale  houses,  and  much 
of  the  business  that  a  salesman  secures  is  competitive  business. 
The  dominant  consideration  influencing  a  retail  dealer  in  plac- 
ing an  order  is  the  price  of  the  goods,  but,  as  between  houses 
offering  goods  to  him  at  the  same  prices,  that  one  will  be  fav- 
ored whose  reputation  for  excellence  of  quality  of  goods, 
promptness  of  delivery  and  courteous  dealing  with  customers  is 
the  best;  and  whose  representatives  are  best  able  to  ingratiate 
themselves  with  the  retail  dealers.  The  traveling  salesman 
stands  for  his  house.  If  he  is  pleasant,  truthful,  courteous,  and 
manly,  and  if  his  principals  possess  the  like  good  qualities,  his 
house  will  get  orders.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  of  low  moral 
tone,  rude,  and  untruthful,  or  if  his  house  fails  to  support  him 
by  living  up  to  his  honestly  made  claims  and  arrangements,  the 
quoted  prices  of  that  house  may  be  lower  than  those  of  its  com- 
petitors, but  its  interests  will  suffer  in  the  competition. 

(242)  Relations  Between  WKolesailer  a^nd  RetaLiler 

The  wholesaler  generally  sells  his  goods  to  the  retail  trade 
on  time,  usually  60  or  90  days  or  even  six  months.  In  case, 
however,  the  retailer  is  ready  to  pay  cash  for  his  p'urchases,  a 
discount,  usually  of  five  per  cent,  from  the  face  of  the  bill,  is  al- 


2i8  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

lowed.  Few  retailers  have  as  yet  grasped  the  possibilities  of 
profit  in  the  cash  discount  system.  Suppose  a  retail  dealer 
turns  his  active  stock  three  times  during  the  year,  and  that  the 
face  value  of  the  bills  sent  him  from  the  wholesale  house  every 
four  months  amounts  to  $10,000.  Let  us  say,  that  he  buys  on 
time,  and  pays  the  full  value  of  the  bills,  making  also  a  profit  of 
five  per  cent.,  or  $500,  for  the  sale  of  the  goods  to  his  customers 
during  the  same  period.  Suppose  now  that  the  retail  dealer, 
being  a  man  of  good  standing  in  his  community,  decides  to 
borrow  money  at  his  bank  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the 
cash  discount  of  5%  which  the  wholesale  house  offers  him,  and 
borrows  from  his  local  bank,  at  6  per  cent,  interest,  suf^cient 
money  to  pay  cash  for  his  goods  at  $10,000  every  four  months. 
The  amount  of  the  interest  which  he  pays  to  the  bank  is  $600, 
and  the  amount  oi  the  discount  that  he  receives  from  the  whole- 
sale house  is  $1500,  the  difiference  $900  being  the  profit  that  the 
retailer  makes  by  securing  his  credit  at  home,  where  he  is  well 
known,  instead  of  from  the  wholesale  house,  which,  from  neces- 
sity, cannot  be  so  well  acquainted  with  him  as  his  local  banker. 
The  advantages  to  retail  merchants  of  this  practice  of  borrow- 
ing to  take  advantage  of  cash  discounts  is  so  great  that  it  is 
being  adopted  in  many  places. 

(243)   The  Credit  Department 

In  most  cases,  however,  the  goods  are  bought  by  the  re- 
tailer on  time.  In  other  words,  the  wholesaler  must  trust  the 
retailer;  must  send  him  goods  without  present  payment,  look- 
ing to  a  date  perhaps  six  months  ahead  for  reimbursement.  In 
order  that  he  may  trust  the  retailer  it  is  necessary  that  the 
wholesaler  should  be  accurately  informed  as  to  the  character 
and  financial  standing  of  his  customers.  To  obtain  this  infor- 
mation, a  special  department  is  maintained  in  wholesale  estab- 
lishments called  the  credit  department,  which  makes  a  business 
of  keeping  track  of  the  financial  standing  of  customers.  When 
a  retailer  wishes  to  open  an  account  with  a  wholesale  house,  he 
either  sends  or,  better,  presents  in  person,  a  statement  of  his 
resources,  his  cash  capital,  the  amount  of  business  he  expects 
to  do  or  is  doing,  the  custom  upon  which  he  counts  to  sustain 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  219 

his  store,  his  previous  experience  in  business,  and  such  certifi- 
cates of  his  reputation  for  honesty,  dihgence,  intelhgence  and 
good  moral  character  as  he  can  obtain  from  men  of  responsi- 
bility in  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  The  credit  man  in- 
vestigates the  evidence  presented,  often  by  a  personal  visit,  and 
then  decides  whether  the  applicant  is  entitled  to  credit,  and  if 
his  application  is  granted,  the  amount  of  credit  that  he  is  en- 
titled to  receive.  As  an  evidence  of  good  faith,  with  the  first 
order,  it  is  usual  to  require  part  payment  in  cash. 

(244)    Considerations  Influencing  the  Credit  Man 

The  considerations  which  influence  the  credit  man  in  de- 
ciding upon  an  application  for  a  credit  account  are  as  follows: 
The  written  statements  of  the  applicant  are  first  verified.  But 
this  is  not  suf^cient.  Other  matters  may  be  taken  into  account. 
Is  the  applicant  married  or  single?  A  married  man  has  the 
preference  because  he  is  more  "settled"  and  because  his  respon- 
sibihties  are  greater  than  those  of  a  single  man.  Does  the  ap- 
plicant carry  life  or  fire  insurance?  What  are  the  amounts  of 
the  policies  and  are  they  unassigned  so  as  to  be  available  for 
the  payment  of  his  debts?  How  much  does  the  applicant  owe 
to  relatives,  employees  or  others?  What  are  his  actual  buiness 
and  private  expense?  Does  he  keep  a  regular  set  of  books  and 
take  a  regular  inventory  of  stock?  What  are  his  family  ties, 
i.  e.,  has  he  relatives  of  financial  standing?  What  are  the  voca- 
tions of  the  other  members  of  his  family — have  they  succeeded 
or  failed?  \Miat  are  his  personal  habits?  If  he  is  a  hard 
drinker,  or  a  loose  liver,  his  financial  standing  is  always  doubt- 
ful. What  is  the  general  character  of  the  community?  Have 
the  leading  men  failed  in  business?  If  so,  the  force  of  public 
opinion  cannot  be  counted  on  to  coerce  a  wavering  debtor. 
Such  points  and  many  others  arc  considered  by  the  credit  man 
before  he  grants  an  account. 

Moreover,  through  information  given  him  by  the  traveling 
salesmen,  through  his  own  visits,  through  the  newspapers  of 
dififerent  localities,  and  on  the  evidence  of  general  business  con- 
ditions in  a  locality — such,  for  example,  as  a  strike  in  the  local 
mill  which  throws  a  thousand  men  out  of  work,  or  the  faihjre 


220  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

of  the  staple  crop  of  a  district,  which  will  make  collections  from 
the  farmers  slower  than  usual,  through  all  the  different  chan- 
nels of  information  to  which  he  has  access,  including  the  pub- 
lished reports  of  the  commercial  agencies,  such  as  Dun  and 
Bradstreet,  and  by  taking  account  of  every  circumstance  that 
may  reasonably  affect  the  ability  of  a  customer  to  pay  his  debts, 
the  credit  man  varies  the  amount  of  credit  that  his  house  ex- 
tends to  its  different  customers  or,  when  necessary,  refuses 
credit  altogether.  On  the  other  hand,  should  the  conditions 
warrant,  the  credit  man  will  not  hesitate  to  grant  an  extension 
of  credit  to  a  customer  in  good  standing,  whom  such  a  conces- 
sion might  greatly  favor;  or  when,  no  matter  what  the  character 
of  the  customer,  a  delay  in  urging  payment  may  save  from  bank- 
ruptcy and  the  house  from  loss.  The  credit  man  is  very  often 
a  member  of  the  firm,  and  it  is  upon  his  shoulders  that  the  safety 
of  the  business  ultimately  rests. 

(245,    The  Orga.nizaLtioi\  of  a.  Retail  Store 

We  now  enter  the  field  of  retail  dealing,  and  here  the  en- 
deavor will  be  to  present  as  briefly  as  possible  the  concrete  rules 
upon  which  a  successful  retail  business  is  conducted.  In  estab- 
lishing a  retail  business,  the  first  thing  to  consider  is  the  choice 
of  a  line  of  goods.  As  a  general  thing,  it  is  unwise  to  intro- 
duce in  a  town  of  stationary  population  a  hne  of  goods  already 
well  represented.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the  field  is  supplied. 
A  new  line  of  goods  may,  however,  succeed.  A  new  town  with- 
out representatives  in  a  given  line,  or  a  rapidly  growing  town  is 
the  best  location.  As  a  rule,  it  is  unsafe  to  count  upon  one's 
ability  to  take  away  their  business  from  established  merchants 
by  cutting  prices.  These  merchants  have  their  customers  of  long 
standing  who  are  attached  to  them,and  whose  habits  are  fixed. 
It  will  take  more  than  price  cutting  to  attract  these  customers 
to  a  new  firm.  And  price  cutting  is  expensive,  leading  often  to 
bankruptcy.  It  is  no  doubt  possible  to  succeed  in  a  town  of 
stationary  population  by  offering  new  and  attractive  goods,  if 
the  established  stores  are  behind  the  times,  but  no  enterprising 
man  cares  to  locate  in  a  dead  town.  The  cities  are  spreading 
out  into  the  country;  new  towns  are  springing  up  throughout 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  221 

the  West  and  South;  and  there  are  abundant  opportunities  to 
start  a  grocery  or  a  hardware  store  where  one  can  be  sure  of 
business.  It  should  be  remembered  that  a  retail  store  is  a  local 
affair.  It  thrives  from  local  connections  because  it  is  conven- 
ient, and  because,  for  one  reason  and  another,  people  get  into 
the  habit  of  patronizing  it.  In  view  of  this  fact,  the  beginner 
should  always,  if  possible,  start  his  pJough  in  new  ground.  In 
regard  to  location  and  external  appearance,  the  store  should  be 
on  a  main  street;  its  floor  should  not  be  more  than  one  step 
above  the  sidewalk;  it  should  be  large,  well  lighted  and  ventil- 
ated; its  windows,  floors  and  counters,  and  the  sidewalk  in  front 
of  it  should  be  clean,  and  its  stock  should  be  neatly  arranged  and 
kept  in  order.  Having  established  our  store,  we  proceed  to  dis- 
cuss the  principles  that  should  regulate  its  management. 

(246)    First  Essential  of  Success  in  Retail  Business 

The  first  essential  to  success  in  retail  business  is  to  buy  to 
the  best  advantage.  To  this  end,  as  in  the  case  of  the  buyer 
for  a  factory  or  wholesale  establishment,  the  retail  buyer,  who 
\s  usually  the  proprietor  or  partner,  must  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  goods  he  wishes  to  buy;  must  know  when  particular 
goods  are  needed,  and  must  be  well  posted  on  the  market.  The 
characteristics  of  a  good  buyer  appear  also  in  dealing  with 
salesmen.  The  business  of  the  salesman  is  to  persuade  the 
buyer.  The  business  of  the  buyer  is  to  use  his  own  judgment, 
and  to  get  the  goods  at  the  lowest  prices  possible.  To  this  end, 
a  good  buyer  assumes  a  receptive  attitude  and,  volunteering  no 
information  himself,  learns  what  he  can  from  the  salesman.  A 
good  buyer  does  not  higgle  over  terms  by  offering  a  lower 
price  than  is  asked  He  takes  the  salesman's  word  for  it  that 
the  prices  quoted  are  the  best  he  can  do  and  if  they  are  not  sat- 
isfactorv,  tells  him  so.  The  salesman  then,  if  it  is  at  all  possi- 
ble, can  lower  the  quotation.  Wherever  possible,  the  buyer 
should  favor  the  salesman,  who  can  do  him  much  good  or  harm 
with  his  house,  and  who  is  a  storehouse  of  useful  information 
on  tlic  line  of  goods,  much  of  which  it  will  pay  the  buyer  to 
know.  It  is  better  tobuy  in  small  quantities  because  of  the 
smaller  risk  involved  in  disposing  of  the  goods.     Larger  dis- 


222  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

counts  are  given  on  large  quantities,  but,  in  spite  of  this  appar- 
ent gain,  interest,  storage  and  insurance  more  than  balance 
the  discount.  When  buying  in  small  quantities,  moreover,  ad- 
vantage can  be  taken  of  changing  styles  and  patterns.  A  good 
buyer  will  always  be  on  the  lookout  in  the  trade  papers  for  signs 
of  a  rising  market,  and  will  buy  heavily  at  the  beginning  of 
the  rise. 

The  wholesale  buyer,  with  his  wide  outlook,  almost  always 
accumulates  a  heavy  stock  at  the  beginning  of  an  upward  move- 
ment of  prices,  and  is  thus  able  to  make  a  large  profit  from  re- 
tailors who  have  neglected  to  do  the  same,  and  who  are  forced 
to  pay  the  market  prices.  If  the  retail  buyer  follows  the  lead 
of  the  wholesale  buyer,  he  will  perhaps  be  in  a  position  to  mark 
up  the  goods  to  his  customers,  and  thus  gain  the  same  advant- 
age that  the  jobber  would  gain  over  him.  It  is  a  safe  rule  never 
to  buy  at  high  prices,  and,  as  a  general  thing,  high  prices  do 
not  last.  The  large  profits  that  are  made,  tempt  other  manu- 
facturers into  the  field;  the  supply  of  goods  is  increased,  and 
prices  must  be  lowered  in  order  to  dispose  of  the  stock.  As 
between  dififerent  classes  of  goods,  staples  should  receive  most 
attention  from  the  buyer,  and  a  new  article  should  only  be  pur- 
chased because  a  customer  has  inquired  for  it,  or  because  the 
conditions  of  the  community  plainly  warrant  its  purchase.  For 
example,  the  installation  of  an  electric  light  plant  in  a  town 
would  justify  the  local  hardware  man  in  laying  in  a  supply  of 
electric  fans.  To  some  extent,  however,  the  dealer  may  stim- 
ulate demand  by  slowly  introducing  new  and  attractive  varie- 
ties of  staples  in  the  form  of  fancy  groceries,  apple  peelers, 
churns,  curry-combs,  etc.  He  can  have  the  customers'  atten- 
tion called  to  these,  and  can  often  make  a  large  profit  before  his 
competitors  realize  what  he  is  doing. 

(247)   WantCaLrds 

As  to  the  amount  to  buy,  the  dififerent  departments  of  a 
large  store  or  the  proprietor  of  a  small  store,  can  keep  up  a 
system  of  want  cards  upon  which  the  needs  of  a  particular  stock 
are  noted.  The  buyer,  from  these  cards,  compiles  his  "want 
book"  so  that  when  the  salesman  calls,  the  buyer  knows  exactly 
what  the  wants  of  the  stock  are.     In    many    cases,    slock     is 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  223 

wanted  immediately,  when  it  is  the  custom  to  order  direct  from 
the  house  without  waiting  for  the  salesman.  It  is  a  safe  con- 
clusion, however,  that  higher  prices  will  be  charged  on  an  order 
by  letter,  unless  a  number  of  inquiries  with  notes  of  other  quo- 
tations are  sent  out,  than  when  the  order  is  given  to  the  sales- 
man, who  knows  that  others  are  in  the  field. 

(248)  Inventory 

Once  each  year,  in  order  that  buying  should  be  intelligently 
carried  on,  an  inventory  should  be  taken.  Every  article  of  mer- 
chandise in  the  store  should  be  counted  or  weighed,  or  meas- 
ured, and  entered  in  a  book  with  the  cost  price  and  the  amount 
of  its  value  found.  The  prices  should  be  the  actual  cost  of  the 
goods  when  bought  with  expenses  of  shipment  added,  with  this 
exception — if  goods  are  lower  in  price  than  when  bought,  the 
lowest  price  should  be  taken.  The  chief  value  of  an  inventory 
:;o  the  merchant  is  to  aid  him  in  finding  out  his  net  worth.  But 
it  is  also  of  value  in  showing  him  what  articles  sell  readily  and 
what  do  not.  Perhaps  the  slow  sales  have  been  due  to  insulB- 
cient  advertising  and  display;  but  more  likely  they  have  been 
due  to  miscalculation,  on  the  part  of  the  buyer,  of  the  strength 
of  the  demand  for  that  particular  article;  and  a  comparison  ot 
the  invoice  book  from  one  year  to  another  is  of  great  value  in 
directing  the  course  of  the  buyer.  It  also  enables  the  merchant 
to  put  his  finger  on  the  weak  spots  in  his  business,  and  to  rem- 
edy in  the  future  some  of  the  mistakes  of  judgment  which  the 
invoice  book  shows  that  he  or  his  clerks  have  made. 

(249)  CaLsh  vs.  Credit  Business 

Having  purchased  the  goods,  the  next  thing  is  to  sell  them, 
and  here  the  first  question  raised  is  that  of  a  cash  versus  a  credit 
business.  In  the  United  States  nearly  all  retail  business  has 
been  started  on  credit.  Workmen  receive  their  wages  at  reg- 
ular intervals,  farmers  sell  their  crops  at  longer  intervals,  and 
it  is  extremely  inconvenient  in  many  cases  to  pay  cash  for 
goods  purchased.  Credit  is  demanded  by  persons  in  good 
standing,  not  as  a  favor,  but  as  a  right.  In  large  cities,  and 
wherever  else  the  supply  of  money  is  large  and  its  circulation 
rapid,  a  cash  business  can  be  done;  but  throughout  the  country 


224  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

and  the  smaller  towns,  especially  where  everybody  has  an  ac- 
count with  everybody  else,  and  where  relations  of  mutual  con- 
fidence result  from  general  knowledge  of  each  other's  affairs,  a 
credit  business  seems  to  be  the  most  desirable.  An  interesting 
illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  changing  from  a  credit  to  a  cash 
business  is  reported  by  a  hardware  merchant  from  Iowa.  The 
dealers  in  a  small  town  in  an  agricultural  district  made  an  agree- 
ment to  sell  for  cash  only,  after  a  certain  date  and  so  notified 
their  customers.  The  new  system  started  off  smoothly  enough 
but  soon  difficulties  arose.  One  merchant  sold  a  good  custom- 
er some  fence  wire  and  loaded  it  on  the  customer's  wagon  be- 
fore reminding  him  of  the  new  rule  "for  cash  only."  The  cus- 
tomer replied  that  he  could  unload  the  wire,  whereupon  the 
merchant  loaned  him  the  money  to  pay  cash. 

(250)   Difficulties  of  the  System  of  Cash  Business 

Another  difficulty  arose  in  cases  where  responsible  people 
Avould  send  by  children  for  articles,  stating  that  they  would  set- 
tle on  their  next  visit  to  town.  The  accounts  with  the  county, 
township,  school  and  road  districts,  which  are  always  important, 
had  to  be  credited  before  they  could  be  paid  and  this  could  only 
be  done  at  regular  intervals.  The  attempted  change  broke 
down,  and  in  general  such  a  change  is  very  difficult  to  accom- 
plish. There  is  a  good  reason  for  this.  It  is  a  source  of 
trouble  and  inconvenience  to  be  always  keepmg  on  hand  and 
paying  out  money  for  necessaries.  Even  among  wealthy  peo- 
ple, monthly  accounts  are  the  rule  because  of  their  convenience. 
Wherever  people  are  accustomed  to  deposit  their  money  in  bank, 
the  system  of  check  payment  is  better  than  any  other,  for  a 
check  furnishes  not  merely  a  means  of  payment,  but  also  a  re- 
ceipt. For  these  and  other  reasons,  the  volume  of  credit  trans- 
actions, if  only  for  short  periods,  is  not  decreasing.  It  is,  how- 
ever, unwise  to  grant  indefinite  credit,  and  to  allow  a  customer 
to  pay  for  goods  "when  convenient"  for  him  to  do  so.  With 
many  persons,  it  is  never  convenient  to  pay,  and  the  average  re- 
tailer has  to  record  heavy  losses  which  have  resulted  from  ori- 
ginal extensions  of  credit  to  unreliable  persons,  and  also  from 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  225 

throwing  good  money  after  bad  in  fear  of  angering  a  customer 
whose  account  is  unpaid.  Every  one  in  receipt  of  income  re- 
ceives his  wages,  salary,  interest,  dividends,  or  rents,  at  definite 
dates.  The  farmer  has  definite  times  for  selhng  his  crop. 
Everyone,  therefore,  should  pay  his  current  debts  out  of  his 
current  receipts  at  the  times  when  money  comes  into  his  hands. 
It  is  no  inconvenience  for  the  retail  dealer  to  insist  upon  this, 
and  to  make  it  a  condition  of  the  extension  of  credit. 

Credit  is  granted  as  a  convenience  to  the  customer,  and 
when  it  is  granted,  a  day  should  be  set  for  payment.  If  pay- 
ment is  not  made,  after  a  reasonable  time  a  second  bill  should 
be  sent;  and  if  no  satisfactory  reply  is  received,  no  more  credit 
should  be  given,  and  a  collector  should  be  sent  out.  Definite, 
determinate  credit  such  as  this,  is  attended  with  little  risk,  for 
the  amount  purchased  in  a  week  or  a  month  is  likely  to  be  mod- 
erate. If  the  further  rule  is  adopted  to  open  accounts  with  per- 
sons of  known  responsibility  only,  a  credit  business  can  be  safely 
conducted;  and  since  most  wholesale  houses  consider  payment 
inside  of  thirty  days  as  "cash"  payment,  prompt  payment  by  the 
retailer  for  goods  purchased  is  not  interfered  with  by  a  system 
of  determinate  credits. 

(251)   Selling  of  Goods 

We  now  enter  upon  the  most  difificult  portion  of  a  retail 
dealer's  problem — the  selling  of  goods.  In  all  forms  of  whole- 
sale business,  and  in  all  dealings  between  manufacturers,  the 
persons  concerned  are  men  of  intelligence,  with  definite  ideas 
of  the  value  of  goods  and  definite  standards  of  judgment  and 
measurement.  In  this  field,  the  contestants  are  fairly  equal,  and 
the  only  condition  of  getting  business  is  to  sell  a  good  article  at 
a  satisfactory  price.  In  the  field  of  retail  buying,  however,  all 
this  is  changed;  no  matter  how  limited  the  knowledge  of  the 
dealer  or  clerk  concerning  the  goods  that  he  offers  for  sale, 
there  is  a  vast  difference  between  his  knowledge  and  that  of  the 
average  customer,  who  usually  possesses  but  little  information 
about  his  purchases;  is  largely  guided  by  whim,  prejudice  and 
personal  relations,  and  who  is  extremely  open  to  impressions. 
It  is  upon  the  good  will  of. this  individual  that  the  success  of  a 


226  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

retail  business  depends.  Whatever  measures  will  attract  him 
should  be  adopted;  whatever  will  repel  him  should  be  avoided. 
Keeping'  these  facts  in  mind,  it  is  not  difficult  to  lay  down  gen- 
eral rules  that  should  guide  the  retail  trader  m  the  conduct  of 
his  business. 

(252)    The  RetaLiI  Store 

The  retail  store  should  bean  attractive  place,  to  which  wo- 
men and  children  are  glad  to  come.  The  windows  should  be 
clean,  and  filled  with  the  most  attractive  looking  goods.  Win- 
dow advertising  is  now  recognized  to  be  more  effective  than 
any  other  kind  of  display.  The  department  stores  pay  large 
salaries  to  their  window  decorators,  and  their  window  display 
is  changed,  often  every  week.  People  like  to  see  things,  and 
seeing  generally  begets  the  desire  of  possession.  When  you 
notice  people  stopping  before  a  store  window  to  stare  at  its 
contents,  you  may  be  sure  that  the  clerks  inside  will  not  be  idle. 
Inside  the  store,  the  floors,  counters,  and  show  cases  should  be 
spotless,  the  stock  kept  in  perfect  order  and  well  dusted.  In  a 
country  store,  the  rear  of  the  room  is  generally  a  lovmging 
pilace,  and  the  use  of  tobacco  makes  cleanliness  difficult,  but 
even  here  profanity,  loud  talking,  or  any  disorder  tending  to 
drive  away  trade  can  be  prevented.  In  the  town  or  city  store, 
loafing  should  not  be  tolerated.  The  proprietor  and  his  clerks 
should  correspond  to  the  appearance  of  the  store.  They  should 
be  neatlv  dressed  and  spotlessly  clean  as  to  hands,  nails,  teeth, 
and  face.  It  should  be  remembered  that  each,  in  the  course  of  a 
day,  stands  face  to  face  with  perhaps  fifty  customers,  and  that 
personal  appearance  eventually  makes  an  impression.  Peo- 
ple like  to  drink  from  a  clean  cup  no  matter  whether  they  are 
clean  or  not.  A  small  matter,  but  one  which  most  peopJe  do 
not  think  about,  is  the  unwillingness  of  ladies  to  be  waited  upon 
by  a  man  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  with  his  hat  on,  and  with  a  cigar 
in  his  mouth  or  laid  on  the  counter  beside  him.  Go  into  a 
large  city  store  on  the  warmest  day.  You  will  see  no  clerks  in 
shirt  sleeves.  Not  only  should  the  proprietor  and  his  clerks  be 
clean  and  neat,  but  it  is  even  more  important  that  they  should 
be  courteous  and  should  be — not  merely  appear — interested  in 
their,  customers.     The  customer  should  be  met  at  the  door  as 


AMERICAN    Ii\DUSTRIi:S  .'-7 

though  yon  were  glad  to  see  him,  and  in  fact  most  retail  dealers 
are.  He  should  be  waited  upon  with  care,  no  matter  whether 
he  buys  or  not.  He  should,  if  possible,  be  accompanied  to  the 
door  when  leaving,  and  during  the  entire  time  of  his  stay,  should 
be  made  to  feel  welcome. 

A  dealer's  friends  are  his  best  customers.  It  requires 
strong  influence  to  wrest  them  from  him,  and  the  more  friendly 
he  is,  the  more  friends  he  will  have.  The  selling  policy  should 
be  In  accord  with  the  general  poHcy  of  the  store.  Absolute 
candor  should  be  the  rule.  A  reputation  for  truthfulness  and 
fair  dealing  is  worth  much,  is  sufficient  in  fact,  to  counterbal- 
ance many  disadvantages  under  which  the  store  may  labor. 
The  clerk  or  proprietor  should  be  thoroughly  informed  in  re- 
gard to  the  stock  so  as  to  be  able  to  advise  the  customer;  and 
if,  in  his  judgment,  the  wants  of  the  customer  would  be  best 
served  by  a  cheaper  article,  he  should  unhesitatingly  recommend 
its  purchase.  Advice  of  this  character,  which  is  plainly  disin- 
terested, is  long  remembered  to  the  store's  credit.  In  the  same 
connection,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  disparage  a  rival.  In- 
vidious criticism  of  a  competitor,  besides  making  bad  feeling  be- 
tween men  who  need  not  be  enemies,  is  apt  to  awaken  in  the 
mind  of  the  customer  a  suspicion  that  the  goods  and  the  man 
that  are  being  so  severely  censured  may  be  worthy  of  attention. 
Goods  should  always  be  delivered  when  delivery  is  requested. 
Cleanliness,  courtesy,  candor  are  three  watchwords  of  retail 
success. 

(253)  Other  Questions  of  Interest  to  the  Retail  Dealer 

The  retail  dealer  should  not  talk  politics,  especially  in  a 
political  campaign.  He  should  belong  to  as  many  local  socie- 
ties and  organizations  as  he  conveniently  can  attend  to,  includ- 
ing some  local  church.  He  should  do  this  not  merely  to  gratify 
his  social  or  religious  instincts  but  in  order  to  extend  his  circle 
of  acquaintances.  He  should  endeavor  to  identify  his  clerks 
with  his  own  interests  by  pa}-ing  them  good  wages  and  by 
eventually  giving  them  an  interest  in  the  business  if  they  prove 
to  be  sufficiently  valuable.  The  loss  of  a  clerk  to  a  competitor 
is  a  loss  of  custom,  especially  if  the  clerk  has  many  friends;  for 
his  friends  go  with  him.     The  retailer  should  advertise  in  the 


228  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

local  newspapers,  and  in  his  advertisements  try  to  explain  fully 
just  why  the  goods  he  offers  are  desirable — not  merely  assert 
that  they  are,  but  show  why  they  are.  It  is  ordinarily  not  diffi- 
cult for  a  dealer  to  obtain  an  exclusive  agency  for  a  town,  and 
then  he  has  merely  to  tell  the  truth  frequently  and  conspicu- 
ously about  the  merits  of  these  goods  to  attract  and  hold  cus- 
tom. It  is,  moreover,  on  exclusive  goods  that  large  profits  are 
made. 

Attractive  circulars,  mailed  to  customers — not  shoved  un- 
der their  doors — are  of  great  assistance  in  brmging  new  goods 
to  their  attention.  Advertising  is  of  peculiar  nnportance  in  in- 
troducing these  new  goods.  As  for  well  known  staples,  the 
general  reputation  and  conduct  of  the  store  will  suffice,  but 
people  must  be  educated  to  appreciate  something  new.  As  to 
prices,  it  is  difficult,  as  already  shown,  to  hold  trade  by  cutting 
prices,  unless  the  low  prices  continue;  and  the  margin  of  profit 
in  most  retail  stores  is  not  large  enough  for  that.  A  profit  of 
twenty  per  cent,  on  a  moderate  capital  of  $5000,  for  instance, 
will  not  be  found  excessive.  Interest  on  this  amount  should  be 
counted  at  6  per  cent.,  and  the  $700  remaining  is  little  more 
than  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  services  of  the  proprietor,  and 
something  besides  to  cover  the  risk  involved.  Price  cutting  is 
desirable  only  when  the  invoice  shows  an  accumulation  of  "dead 
stock,"  i.  e.,  goods  unsalable  at  regular  prices.  It  is  bad  policy 
to  allow  this  dead  stock  to  accumulate,  and  it  should  be  sold  for 
what  it  will  bring.  Judicious  advertising  of  the  sale  will  usu- 
ally carry  off  the  goods  at  something  above  cost.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  the  dealers  in  a  town  can  arrange  some  basis  of  agree- 
ment on  the  prices  of  staple  articles;  on  shipping  together,  so 
as  to  obtain  carload  rates,  always  lower  than  the  rates  on  small 
consignments;  on  buying  together  in  order  to  obtain  a  larger 
discount  on  large  purchases,  and  to  protect  themselves  against 
new  comers  who  may  try  to  get  business  by  cutting  prices.  A 
most  effective  way  of  dealing  with  trouble  of  this  character  is 
for  each  of  the  established  dealers  to  meet  the  stranger's  cut  on 
some  one  class  of  goods,  while  charging  reasonable  prices  for 
the  remainder.  The  usual  result  is  a  speedy  withdrawal  of  the 
intruder  from  the  field.     Any  such  movement  toward  co-opera- 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  22g 

tion  among  retail  dealers  is  gratifying  evidence  of  friendliness, 
as  well  as  a  source  of  profit  to  those  who  engage  in  it. 


Recent  Changes  in  the  Organization  of  Trade 


(254)  The  Tendency  to  do  Away  With  Both  Wholesaler  and  Small  Retailer 

The  final  subject  that  will  be  discussed  is  one  of  increasing 
interest  to  all  those  who  are  expecting  some  day  to  be  mer- 
chants. I  refer  to  the  growing  tendency  to  do  away  with  both 
wholesaler  and  small  retailer,  and  to  institute  more  direct  deal- 
ings between  manufacturer  and  consumer.  This  tendency 
seems  to  be  in  line  with  progress.  Any  reduction  in  the  num- 
ber of  middlemen,  it  would  seem,  would  be  a  gain  to  the  public. 
This  tendency  toward  the  simplification  of  distributive  trade 
appears  in  two  movements:  (i)  The  elimination  of  the  whole- 
sale and  retail  dealer  by  the  department  store  and  the  cata- 
logue house,  and  (2)  the  elimination  of  all  middlemen  by  direct 
dealing  between  manufacturer  and  consumer, 

(255)  The  AdvaLi\tages  of  the  DepaLrtnvent  Store  in  Cities  and  LaLfge  Towns 

It  is,  on  its  face,  a  retail  establishment,  but  it  contains  many 
features  that  the  retail  store  does  not  have.  It  is  the  direct  de- 
scendant of  the  general  store  at  the  cross-roads  that  kept  every- 
thing the  community  used — dry  goods,  groceries,  hardware, 
boots  and  shoes  and  other  lines.  In  the  same  way,  the  huge 
department  store  in  the  large  city  is,  as  its  name  implies,  made 
up  of  many  departments  under  the  same  roof,  where  can  be 
found  practically  everything  the  customer  needs — all  the  staples 
and  novelties  of  ordinary  retail  trade,  including  farm  machinery 
and  harness,  and  also  dental,  medical,  legal  and  photographic 
departments,  besides  many  others.  The  department  store  aims 
to  supply  to  the  customer,  from  one  establishment,  all  the  ser- 
vices and  all  the  commodities  which  he  needs.  It  depends  for 
its  success  on  dense  population  and  rapid  transit.  It  has  a 
large  capital  and  often  does  an  immense  business.  The  de- 
14 


230  "  AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES 

partment  store  enjoys  certain  great  advantages  over  the  ordin- 
ary retailer.  It  can  buy  directly  from  the  manufacturer,  and 
thus  can  obtain  better  prices  than  the  retailer.  It  can  discount 
its  own  bills.  It  can  buy  up  bankrupt  stocks  at  sacrifice  prices. 
It  can,  by  displaying  many  lines  of  goods  close  at  hand,  call 
the  p'urchaser's  attention  to  some  article  that  he  had  not 
thought  he  wanted,  coming  to  the  store  for  something  else; 
and,  in  this  way,  such  a  store  makes  one  department  aid  an- 
other. On  this  account,  the  stock  of  a  department  store  can 
be  turned  more  rapidly  than  that  of  the  ordinary  retailer.  The 
same  reason  explains  the  gain  to  the  department  store  from  its 
"bargain  days"  which  come  every  day  at  some  counter.  The 
customer  is  attracted  by  the  cheapness  of  the  bargain  counter, 
and  before  leaving  the  store  probably  buys  several  other  things 
which  are  not  bargains.  The  dead  stock  of  the  department  is 
readily  worked  off  over  the  bargain  counter. 

Another  advantage  of  the  department  store  lies  in  its  su- 
periority in  advertising.  It  can  combine  the  small  notices  of 
fifty  retailers  into  a  huge  broadside  in  a  daily  paper  and  can 
pay  large  salaries  to  its  advertising  experts.  The  large  adver- 
tisements of  Wanamaker's  store  in  Philadelphia,  for  example, 
appear  simultaneously  in  several  Philadelphia  papers,  and  are 
read  each  morning  by  tens  of  thousands  of  people  who  want  the 
things  described.  The  department  store  can  also  attract  cus- 
tom by  music;  display  of  pictures;  attractive  waiting  rooms, 
and,  above  all,  by  the  fact  that  it  is  a  "big"  place  to  which  peo- 
ple like  to  go.  It  is  also  claimed,  although  the  w.riter  believes 
in  most  cases,  unjustly,  that  the  great  department  stores  of  the 
large  cities  have  deliberately  crushed  the  small  retail  dealer  by 
running  different  departments  at  an  actual  loss,  living  upon  the 
profits  of  the  other  lines,  until  the  small  dealer  has  been  driven 
out  of  business.  While  this  may  have  been  done  in  some  cases, 
the  real  explanation  of  the  failure  of  retail  dealers  who  had  to 
meet  this  competition  is  made  up  of  the  advantages  of  the  de- 
partment stores  enumerated  above.  It  is,  however,  true  that 
the  result  of  the  growth  of  the  department  store  system  has 
been  to  drive  out  of  business  a  large  number  of  retail  dealers  in 
all  of  our  large  cities. 


AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES  231 

(256)  The  Opsr&Uons  of  the  MaLil-Order  House 

Here  the  attempt  is  made  to  reach  the  consumers  scattered 
over  the  country  and  to  sell  them  goods  by  sample  or  descrip- 
tive circular.  The  business  of  the  mail-order  house  is  carried 
on  mainly  in  the  West.  Twice  each  year  these  houses  send  out 
large  catalogues  filled  with  descriptions  of  thousands  of  articles 
and  giving  the  prices  at  the  house,  the  customer  paying  the 
freight.  In  addition  to  these  catalogues,  the  order  house  will, 
when  requested,  send  samples  of  goods  that  permit  it,  such  as 
dry  goods,  etc.  The  mail-order  houses  do  an  enormous  busi- 
ness. One  house  in  Chicago  reports  two  million  customers. 
In  some  things  the  mail-order  house  enjoys  the  same  advant- 
ages as  the  department  store.  It  can  buy  directly  from  the 
manufacturer,  and  can  discount  its  own  bills.  It  can  pick  up 
bankrupt  stock,  and  its  sales  are  strictly  for  cash.  Sometimes 
mail-order  houses  have  their  own  factories.  No  traveling 
salesmen  are  required,  but  extensive  advertising  in  local  news- 
papers is  done.  The  mail-order  house  sells  in  larger  variety 
and  at  lower  prices  than  the  retail  dealer  in  the  small  town,  and 
so  forces  the  local  retailer  to  lower  his  prices. 

(257)  The  Effect  of   Department   Stores  a.i\d  the  Mail-Order  Hov.so  Depart 

ments  Upon  the  Retail  Stores 

What  can  the  retail  dealer  do  to  offset  this  development  of 
central  distributive  agencies?  His  case  would  seem  to  be  hope- 
less. The  department  store  attacks  him  in  the  cities  and  large 
towns  and  the  mail-order  house  reaches  out  into  the  smaller 
towns  and  into  the  country  seeking  whom  it  may  devour. 

There  is,  however,  something  to  be  said  on  the  other  side, 
and  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  retail  store  can  defend  itself 
against  the  attacks  of  the  department  store  and  the  catalogue 
house.  In  spite  of  their  great  power,  these  institutions  labor 
under  serious  disadvantages.  The  personal  element  is  wanting 
in  both,  especially  in  the  business  of  the  mail-order  house. 
There  is  little  opportunity  for  the  establishment  of  friendly  re- 
lations. In  the  department  store,  the  idea  is  to  sell,  no  matter 
what  the  consequences  of  loss  of  custom.  The  loss  of  a  few 
customers  is  of  little  importance  among  so  many.     Department 


332  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

Store  clerks  are,  as  a  rule,  less  competent  than  the  clerks  of 
the  better  grade  of  retail  houses.  They  are  ill  paid,  for  one 
thing,  and  there  is  less  opportunity  to  train  them.  Moreover, 
they  work  under  the  eye  of  subordinates  who  have  not  the  same 
interest  as  the  owner  of  a  retail  store  in  their  work.  For  this 
reason,  and  also  because  of  the  general  policy  of  buying  any 
stock  that  can  be  had  at  low  figures,  the  quality  of  the  goods 
sold  by  the  average  department  store,  and  the  adaptation  of 
those  goods  to  the  wants  of  the  customer,  are  below  the  aver- 
age of  well  managed  retail  business.  In  even  the  best  of  the 
department  stores,  there  is  general  complaint  of  the  careless- 
ness and  ignorance  of  clerks,  and  of  the  inferior  quality  of  the 
goods.  Multitudes  of  people  visit  these  stores,  but  not,  as  a 
rule,  the  intelligent  buyers  who  know  that  the  better  quality 
furnished  by  the  good  retail  store,  and  the  reliability  of  the 
retail  dealer's  claims,  will  more  than  offset  the  higher  prices 
that  he  may  charge.  It  is  even  worse  with  the  mail-order  house 
than  with  the  department  store.  Here  there  is  absolutely  no 
personal  contact  between  buyer  and  seller,  nor  any  means  of 
seeing  goods  before  they  are  ordered.  The  customer  must  take 
his  chance  of  disappointment,  and  he  can  have  small  hope  of 
redress  if  the  goods  sent  him  do  not  come  up  to  the  represen- 
tations of  the  catalogue.  The  retail  dealer,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  has  been  already  shown,  can  establish  personal  relations  with 
his  customers;  he  can  make  them  his  friends,  not  merely  by 
courteous  treatment,  but  by  careful  attention  to  their  wants. 
He  can  secure  the  best  goods,  assure  himself  of  their  quality, 
and  guarantee  them  to  his  customers.  A  department  store  can- 
not do  this.  The  retail  dealer  can  constantly  emphasize  the 
the  quality  of  his  goods,  and,  after  his  customers  have  learned 
that  his  word  is  good,  they  may  be  depended  on  to  prefer  as- 
sured quality  to  doubtful  quality,  even  at  lower  prices.  More- 
over, the  retail  dealer  who  devotes  himself  to  one  line  of  goods 
can  become  far  better  informed  than  the  department  store  clerk 
concerning  the  goods  that  he  sells;  and  his  superior  service  is, 
therefore,  not  merely  the  result  of  interest,  but  of  knowledge  as 
well.  It  is  claimed,  and  with  some  reason,  that  the  retail  deal- 
ers even  in  the  larger  cities  are  holding  their  own  in  competition 
with  the  department  store  and  catalogue  house.     If  so,  it  is  a 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  233 

sign  that  the  customer  is  gradually  learning  to  prefer  quality  to 
price.  The  compietition  with  the  department  store  cannot  but 
prove  beneficial  in  the  long  run  to  the  retailer.  It  has  enforced 
upon  him  the  necessity  of  improving  his  methods,  diversifying 
his  stock,  increasing  his  courtesy  and  reliability,  and  perfecting 
himself  in  the  knowlege  of  his  goods.  The  public  will  soon 
learn,  it  is  to  be  hopped,  that  "Jack-of-all-trades  is  master  of 
none,"  and  that  it  is  better  to  "buy  hats  of  a  hatter,  shoes  of 
a  shoeman,  and  glasses  of  an  optician." 

(258)  Natural  Advanta.^es  of  the  Country  Retailer  over  the  Catalogue  House 

The  natural  advantages  oi  the  country  retailer  over  the 
catalogue  house,  are  even  more  important  than  those  of  the  city 
retailer  in  competition  with  the  department  store.  In  the  coun- 
try town  the  buyer  can  always  see  the  goods,  which  are  much 
more  stimulating  to  the  buying  desire  than  a  picture  in  a  cata- 
logue. Goods  are  also  often  wanted  quickly  when  there  is  no 
time  to  send  to  the  city.  The  country  retailer  can  extend  credit 
with  safety,  which  gives  him  a  hold  on  his  customers.  He  can 
also,  just  as  the  city  retailer,  help  his  customers  with  advice,  cul- 
tivate personal  relations  with  them,  and  guarantee  the  quality 
of  his  goods.  In  the  long  run,  it  is  not  believed  that  he  will 
suffer  in  competition  with  the  catalogue  house,  which  can  only 
drive  him  to  diversify  his  stock,  sweep  out  his  store,  put  on  his 
coat,  change  his  linen  oftener  and  keep  his  eyes  open. 

(259)  Direct  Dea-lings  Between  MaLnufacturer  and  Dealer 

In  recent  years  direct  dealing  between  manufacturer  and 
consumer  has  been  growing,  and  by  some  retailers  it  is  feared 
that  all  middlemen  will  eventually  be  eliminated.  The  most 
conspicuous  example  of  direct  dealing  of  this  character  is  fur- 
nished by  the  Big  Four  Meat  Combine,  which  centers  its  opera- 
tions at  Chicago.  By  establishing  agencies  throughout  the 
South  and  West,  many  also  having  been  established  in  the  East- 
ern states,  the  meat  packers  of  Chicago  have  reduced  thous- 
ands of  local  butchers  to  agents'  positions  or  have  driven  them 
out  of  business.  The  reason  is  that  the  independent  butcher  is 
at  a  great  disadvantage  both  in  buying  and  selling.     The  pack- 


234  AMERICAN    INDUSTRIES 

ers  can  pay  a  higher  price  than  the  independent  butcher  can 
pay,  because  they  make  more  out  of  the  by-products  than  he 
can  make  out  of  the  beef,  and  therefore  they  get  all  the  best 
cattle.  The  local  butcher  must  content  himself  with  inferior 
stock.  Then  again,  for  the  same  reason  that  he  can  pay  better 
prices  for  cattle,  the  packer  can  undersell  the  local  butcher  in 
the  local  butcher's  own  market.  The  packer  makes  his  profit 
out  of  the  by-product  factories.  He  can  sell  his  meat  at  cost 
or  below  cost  and  still  make  money.  Owing  to  this  peculiar 
situation,  the  retail  butcher  is  fast  disappearing. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  has  also  established  numerous 
agencies  of  distribution  and  the  retail  dealer  finds  little  profit  in 
handling  coal  oil.  A  celebrated  brand  of  shoe,  the  Douglas 
Shoe,  is  handled  through  stores  owned  by  the  manufacturer. 
Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  sell  cigars  and  tobacco  in 
the  same  manner.  Sometimes  particular  articles  are  so  well 
advertised  that  the  customer  demands  them  from  the  retailer. 
Royal  Baking  Powder  is  an  example.  In  such  a  case  the  manu- 
facturer can  sell  his  goods  at  a  fixed  price  and  can  put  the  price 
on  the  package,  taking  away  all  of  the  middleman's  profit. 
These  instances  of  direct  dealing  between  manufacturer  and 
customer  do  not,  however,  indicate  the  existence  of  any  general 
tendency  toward  the  destruction  of  the  retail  dealer.  In  the 
first  instance,  that  of  the  selling  of  fresh  meat,  the  retailer  is  not 
destroyed;  he  merely  becomes  the  agent  of  the  packer  and  this 
is  possible  only  because  the  goods  that  the  packer  offers  for 
sale  are  so  uniform  in  quality  and  so  few  in  number,  that  they 
almost  distribute  themselves,  and  because,  also,  they  are  in  such 
great  demand  that  a  fair  salary  can  be  paid  for  distributing 
them.  Meat  is  the  only  product  of  which  these  things  can  be 
said.  In  the  case  of  the  Douglas  Shoe,  mentioned  above,  only 
one  kind  of  shoe  is  sold  and  that  in  the  cities  and  large  towns. 
No  attempt  is  made  to  obtain  variety. 

(260)  The  WKolesa.ler  and  Retailer  Required 

But  few  articles,  finally,  can  be  so  well  advertised  as  to 
sell  themselves.  So  far  as  can  be  determined,  the  retail  dealer 
and  the  wholesale  dealer  as  well,  will  continue  to  be  an  essen- 


AMERICAN   INDUSTRIES  235 

tial  factor  in  our  economic  organization.  Only  through  these 
channels  can  the  wants  of  the  people,  constantly  growing  more 
complex,  and  their  increasing  desire  for  guaranteed  quality  in 
the  goods  they  purchase,  be  supplied.  It  is  to  be  expected  that 
the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  oust  the  retailer  from  his 
position  will  only  result  in  causing  him  to  improve  his  methods 
and  everywhere  become  what  it  is  necessary  that  he  should 
become,  a  real  benefit  to  the  community  in  which  he  works. 

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